US stock futures were unchanged in night trading Tuesday, building on recent strength that pushed key averages to record highs.
Dow futures rose 34 points. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.12% and 0.1%, respectively.
Fueling the rally is optimism about the launch of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine in the UK on Tuesday. Hopes that the Senate will soon approve an economic stimulus package to support the markets as the coronavirus outbreak continues to rage has also bolstered sentiment.
On Tuesday, the Dow rose around 104 points, helped by gains at Dow Inc. and Johnson & Johnson. The 30-share Dow closed just below its record high and well above the 30,000 level on Friday.
The S&P 500 was also up 0.28% and closed at a record high. The 500 stock index closed above 3,700 for the first time.
The Nasdaq Composite also posted record highs after a 0.5% rally supported by cloud stocks. All major averages started in negative territory on Tuesday.
“Interestingly, both technology and cyclics share leadership [Tuesday], a trend that has become increasingly noticeable over the past five trading days, “Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Leuthold Group, told CNBC.
The small-cap benchmark Russell 2000 closed on Tuesday with a new record high of 1.4%.
“Covid is raging and there is still no stimulus package? Regardless, with vaccinations already in place, it may be impossible to keep this stock market from rising over the holidays,” added Paulsen.
On Tuesday afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he wanted Congress to pass a coronavirus relief bill that does not provide legal immunity for companies or state and local relief. Chuck Schumer, Chairman of the Senate Minority, DN.Y., said McConnell’s proposal to move the stimulus talks forward without state and local government assistance was not in good faith.
The volatile negotiations are taking place amid the worst days of the coronavirus pandemic. More than 200,000 Americans, on average, test positive for the coronavirus every day, according to a CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins University data.
In the United States, 1 million new cases have emerged in just four days, bringing the national total to over 15 million.
The so-called JOLT report of the Ministry of Labor will be published on Wednesday at 10 a.m.CET. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect job vacancies to hit 6.3 million in October, up from 6.4 million in September.
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