U.S. stock times opened flat Monday night after a rally that lifted the major averages to higher highs.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose just 16 points, or less than 0.1%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.1%.
The Dow jumped 204 points, or 0.7%, earlier in the day, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively.
These gains came after President Donald Trump signed a $ 900 billion coronavirus relief package into law. The measure includes a direct payment of $ 600 to most Americans. The signing came days after Trump demanded payment of just $ 2,000. The House is expected to vote on increasing direct payments to $ 2,000, but the GOP-led Senate is unlikely to pass the step.
“The combination of vaccine distribution, fiscal stimulus, and easy monetary policy continues to create a positive backdrop for equities going into 2021,” wrote Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management. “The agreement on the new U.S. fiscal stimulus package removes a recent hurdle, and the world’s central banks continue to support the recovery by holding up (and ‘expansion) of silver dwellings. “
Monday’s rally put the S&P 500 up 15.6% for the year and the Dow up 6.5% over that period. The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, has surpassed more than 43% in 2020 when investors entered major technical names such as Apple, Amazon and Facebook.
The number of coronavirus cases continues to rise in the U.S., however, raising doubts about the end of the economic recovery into the new year. Over the past week, at least 184,000 new infections were reported in the U.S. each day, according to a CNBC study of Johns Hopkins University data.
“Vaccine distribution has now officially begun … but the pandemic has reached alarming levels on many fronts,” wrote Jason Pride, CIO of private wealth at Glenmede.
“The viral recovery has prompted lock-in measures across the country, hampering economic reopening efforts. If the viral spread is not brought under control by the end of the year, it is likely to be a major campaign to do so in early 2021 before the vaccine has become widely distributed, “Pride added.
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