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Stock futures rose slightly in overnight trading on Sunday following a four-week losing streak on Wall Street.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed about 80 points. The S&P 500 futures gained 0.2% and the Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.3%.
The S&P 500 and the 30-stock Dow were coming off their fourth straight negative week, shedding 0.6% and 1.8%, respectively. It marked the first time since August 2019 that the two benchmarks suffered a four-week losing streak.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq eked out a 1% gain last week, posting its first positive week in four as the technology sector rebounded slightly from the recent deep rout.
Signs of a worsening pandemic continue to keep investors on edge. New daily coronavirus cases topped 1,000 in New York state on Saturday, marking the first time the state’s new infections have broken the 1,000 threshold since early June.
Major averages are on track to post steep losses for September, a historically weak month for stocks. The Dow and the S&P 500 have fallen 4.4% and 5.8%, respectively, while the Nasdaq has dropped 7.3%. The declines followed a massive comeback from the coronavirus sell-off that saw the S&P 500 climb more than 50% from its March bottom.
“When markets get to the kinds of extremes we saw a month ago, it tends to take a very deep correction before the worst is behind us,” Matthew Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak, said in a note on Sunday. “It also usually sees several ‘waves’ of a decline.”
Investors continue to monitor the developments on further fiscal stimulus after negotiations between House Democrats and the Trump administration fell apart in early August.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday a last-minute coronavirus aid deal remains on the table as House Democrats try to forge ahead on a smaller aid package costing about $2.4 trillion. The chamber could vote on the bill as soon as next week.
Meanwhile on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that he will nominate Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacancy left by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.
The move sets up a confirmation fight just weeks before Election Day. Hearings to consider Trump’s nominee are set to begin Oct. 12, Senator Lindsey Graham said late Saturday.
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