U.S. stock indexes were indicated slightly higher early Wednesday, potentially extending Tuesday’s run, as investors hang hopes on Congress passing a coronavirus relief package to limit the economic harm wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic and wait for approval of a coronavirus vaccine.
How are stock benchmarks performing?
-
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average
YMZ20,
+0.23% YM00,+0.23% were up 86 points to reach 30,256, a gain of 0.3%. -
S&P 500 index futures
ESZ20,
+0.11% ES00,+0.11% were up 7 points, or 0.2%, to 3,309. -
Nasdaq-100 futures
NQZ20,
-0.12% NQ00,-0.12% slipped 8 points, or less than 0.1%, at 12,628.75.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 registered its 30th closing high of 2020 and the Nasdaq Composite notched its 50th
-
The Dow
DJIA,
+0.35% rose 104.09 points, or 0.4%, to end at 30,173.88 and is now up five of the past six trading days. -
The S&P 500 index
SPX,
+0.28% was up 10.29 points, or 0.3%, to finish at 3,702.25, surpassing its previous closing high of 3699.12 set last Friday. -
The Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP,
+0.50% climbed 62.83 points, or 0.5%, to 12,582.77, setting a new closing record.
What’s driving the market?
Investors are fixated on another round of coronavirus relief aid after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin proposed a $916 billion-package on Tuesday, following the rejection by Democrats of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s efforts to narrow the scope of a $908 billion bipartisan proposal.
The Trump administration’s new offer includes $160 billion in aid for state and local governments, as well as liability protection for businesses and stimulus checks for adults and children, according to reports by Bloomberg and the Washington Post.
The focus on fiscal aid comes as the global tally for confirmed cases of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 rose above 68 million on Wednesday, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University, while the death toll rose above 1.55 million. The U.S. has the highest case tally in the world at 15.2 million and the highest death toll at 286,338, or more than a fifth of the global total, with 219,944 new cases on Tuesday, and at least 2,597 people died, according to a New York Times tracker.
Market participants have long said that another round of government aid is needed to sustain what some bears view as a stock-market rally that has gotten too hyped up on the prospect of COVID vaccines.
” Lawmakers in Congress aren’t exactly on the same page, with regards to the kind of stimulus that’s needed beyond the end of the year, but one thing they’re clearly in agreement on is the essential need for an extension of relief. And one that’s tied to funding for government.” wrote Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, in a note.
Against that backdrop, the market is awaiting a Food and Drug Administration meeting scheduled to take place Thursday as the next step toward the likely authorization of the BioNTech
BNTX,
Meanwhile, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to arrive in Brussels later Wednesday, to meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a bid to secure a post-Brexit trade deal. Fears of a ‘no-deal’ scenario when the transition period ends on Dec. 31 weighed on stocks and the British pound
GBPUSD,
Read: Germany’s Merkel pushes for tougher COVID-19 rules as daily death toll hits a record
Looking ahead to U.S. economic reports, the Labor Department’s job openings report, or JOLTs, will be released at 10 a.m. Eastern Time and another report at the same time on wholesale inventories.
Which stocks are in focus?
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DoorDash Inc.
DASH,
is expected to begin trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “DASH.” -
FireEye Inc.
FEYE,
+0.71% shares are in focus after the cybersecurity company late Tuesday said sophisticated hackers accessed its tools used to test its customers’ security. -
Tempur Sealy International Inc.
TPX,
-2.81% set to invest $150 million in next three years for growth initiatives and targets $280 million in buybacks.
