Traders on floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Source: New York Stock Exchange
U.S. stock futures moved modestly higher on Monday evening as Wall Street looked to bounce back from a rough week ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 40 points, or 0.1%. Those for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 added 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively.
The move in futures comes after a slump for equities last week. The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 lost 1.5%, while the Dow was off 0.9%, respectively. It was the worst week for the three major indexes since October.
The disappointing week for stocks came as Biden unveiled his $1.9 trillion plan for economic relief as the country tries to get a handle on the Covid-19 pandemic. Biden is set to be inaugurated on Wednesday, with the National Guard in Washington amid heightened security concerns after a Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“In the week ahead, global economic data and U.S. earnings reports will be plentiful, but what matters is whether President Elect Biden’s Inauguration on 1/20 occurs peaceably and whether Republicans in the Senate send signals of constructive cooperation or of a 2020 replay,” BTIG chief equity and derivatives strategist Julian Emanuel said in a note to clients on Sunday.
Janet Yellen, Biden’s designated nominee for Treasury Secretary and a former chair of the Federal Reserve, will appear before the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday. Yellen’s prepared remarks call for the federal government to “act big.”
Tuesday also kicks off a heavy week of earnings. Bank of America and Goldman Sachs will report their fourth-quarter results before the bell, with Netflix‘s numbers coming after the market closes.
Earnings season got off to a sour start last week. Shares of JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup lost ground on Friday after their earnings reports. JPMorgan beat Wall Street estimates on the top and bottom lines, but Wells Fargo and Citi missed revenue expectations.
The U.S. stock market was closed on Monday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
