On a very lean Monday, a projection for a spike in COVID-19 cases might be influencing the market sentiments. Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Vermont states are reporting a jump in infections in the last week. New infections might continue to rise in more than half of the states in the United States.
Early signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open slightly positive.
Asian shares finished broadly higher, while European shares are trading up.
Developments regarding a new stimulus bill are likely to remain in the spotlight next week, potentially overshadowing reports on consumer and producer price inflation, retail sales, and industrial production.
As of 8.10 am ET, the Dow futures were progressing 49.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were up 21.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were gaining 189.25 points.
The U.S. major averages all closed firmly positive on Friday. The Nasdaq jumped 158.96 points or 1.4 percent to 11,579.94, the Dow climbed 161.39 points or 0.6 percent to 28,586.90, and the S&P 500 advanced 30.30 points or 0.9 percent to 3,477.13.
On the economic front, Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans will address the National Association for Business Economics at 9.00 am ET.
Asian stocks rose broadly on Monday. Chinese stocks led regional gains. The benchmark Shanghai Composite jumped 86.39 points, or 2.64 percent, to 3,358.46. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rallied 2.2 percent to finish at 24,649.68.
Japanese shares ended slightly lower. The Nikkei average slid 61 points, or 0.26 percent, to 23,558.69 while the broader Topix index closed 0.24 percent lower at 1,643.35.
Australian markets eked out modest gains. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 edged up 29.80 points, or 0.49 percent, to 6,132, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 30.60 points, or 0.48 percent, at 6,343.10.
European shares are trading higher. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is gaining 34.87 points or 0.71 percent. The German DAX is progressing 73.17 points or 0.57 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is adding 7.30 points or 0.12 percent.
The Swiss Market Index is adding 61.36 points or 0.59 percent.
The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is up 0.78 percent.
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