Stocks in Europe and the U.S. rose generally on Monday, spurred by positive news such as Trump signing a new stimulus bill, a trade agreement on Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union and the launch of mass vaccinations in Europe.
U.S. stock futures continued to climb before the bell, with S&P 500 futures up 0.7% and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.68% before the bell, just a step away from a new record high. After the February-March selloff, the S&P 500 has rebounded 60% from its yearly low and is expected to rise more than 14% for the year.
Trump has signed a $900 billion stimulus bill on Sunday evening EST, but he is expected to continue to push for a significant increase in federal cash handouts to Americans to $2000.
U.S. stock futures jumped on the news. Airline stocks were the biggest gainers, with United Airlines up more than 1.6 percent pre-market; Southwest Airlines rose 1.88 percent pre-market. Investors expect the new stimulus bill to partially ease the industry’s current woes.
Democrats are expected to vote in Congress on Monday on the issue of raising the cash disbursement limit to $2,000 in the stimulus bill, but with Republicans currently controlling the Senate, there is little chance of the relevant bill passing.
European markets rose on Monday, with the European Stoxx 50 index up over 0.91% and the German DAX up 1.56%, hitting a record high during the session.
On the news, the EU previously launched a mass vaccination program. European Commission President von der Leyen announced Saturday that a total of more than 2 billion doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine have been ordered from several drugmakers and have been shipped to 27 member states. The mass vaccination officially began on Sunday. However, three member states – Germany, Hungary and Slovakia – started vaccination earlier than the 26th.
The FTSE 100 index rose on Monday as optimism continued to build over a trade deal for Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, which was finally reached on Christmas Eve, December 24, allowing markets to escape the cloud of uncertainty over a “hard Brexit” without a trade deal.
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