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US stock futures are trading low hours before the opening bell on Wall Street, as concerns about high inflation, lower unemployment rates and higher gas prices are pushing markets down.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I: DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGE | 31496.3 | +572.16 | + 1.85% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 3841.94 | +73.47 | + 1.95% |
| I: COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITION INDEX | 12920.147675 | +196.68 | + 1.55% |
The US economic aid package, approved by the Senate on Saturday, provides direct payments of up to $ 1,400 for most Americans and extends emergency unemployment benefits. It is a victory for President Joe Biden and his Democratic allies as final Congressional approval is expected this week.
Wall Street ended a volatile trading day last week with a broad recovery that broke the three-day losing streak. The S&P 500 gained 2% to 3,841.94. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.9% to 31,496.30. The Nasdaq compound rose 1.6% to 12,920.15.
CHINA FEB EXPORTS POST-RECORD INCREASE IN COVID-19-DEPRESSED LEVELS 2020
Shares in smaller companies outperformed the broader market, as they did throughout the year. The Russell 2000 index rose 2.1% to 2,192.21.
A US government report on Friday showed that employers created hundreds of thousands of jobs in the past month than economists had expected and was an encouraging sign for the economy. But it also helped to raise Treasury yields, raising concerns that rising inflation could end a period of ultra-low interest rates.
US stock futures are trading low hours before the opening bell on Wall Street, as concerns about high inflation, lower unemployment rates and higher gas prices are pushing markets down. (Nicole Pereira / New York Stock Exchange via AP)
The increase in oil prices is part of this picture. After plummeting with the start of the pandemic, with falling demand, prices have rebounded in recent months.
The devastating winter freeze that hit Texas and other parts of the southern United States last month halted the production of about 4 million barrels a day of American oil and prices rose above $ 60 a barrel.
Last week, with oil prices rising, some observers expected the OPEC cartel and its allies to lift more restrictions and let oil flow more freely. But OPEC has agreed to leave most of the restrictions in place, despite growing demand.
U.S. benchmark oil rose $ 1.27 to $ 67.36 a barrel in Monday’s electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It jumped from $ 2.26 to $ 66.09 a barrel on Friday.
Brent crude, the international standard, earned $ 1.36 to $ 70.72 a barrel.
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Meanwhile, Asian stocks fell mostly on Monday, despite hopes for a gradual global recovery, after the US stimulus package was approved by the Senate over the weekend.
The strong sale of shares in technology companies helped to reduce benchmarks in Japan and South Korea, after initial gains. The Shanghai Composite fell 2.3% after China’s Foreign Minister made ominous comments about the autonomous island of Taiwan.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.4% to 28,743.25. Australia’s S & P / ASX 200 rose 0.4% to 6,739.60, while South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.0% to 2,995.90. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.5% to 28,661.49, while the Shanghai Composite fell to 3,423.02.
Chinese computer chip maker SMIC fell 5.2%; Xiaomi, a mobile phone maker, lost 7.8%; Japanese technology and energy giant SoftBank fell 2.4% and printer and copier maker Ricoh lost 6.3%.
Oil prices pushed upward, with Brent oil exceeding $ 70 a barrel after OPEC decided not to suspend production cuts. Oil prices soared at the end of last week after Yemeni rebels claimed they had attacked a Saudi oil facility.
At an annual press conference on the sidelines of the largely ceremonial annual session of the National People’s Congress of China, Foreign Minister Wang Yi demanded that the Biden government reverse the “dangerous practice” of former President Donald Trump to show support to Taiwan.
China’s claim to Taiwan, which split with the mainland in 1949, but is claimed by Beijing as its territory, is an “impassable red line,” he said. Separately, Wu Qian, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense and a delegate to the congress, said that China would not “renounce the use of force and reserve the right to take the necessary measures”.
The Taiwan stock benchmark fell a modest 0.2%.
Beijing data released on Saturday showed that China’s exports increased 60.6% over the previous year in the first two months of 2021, with the reopening of factories and the gradual recovery in global demand. The huge increase reflects a drop in production and exports in early 2020, at the height of China’s coronavirus outbreaks.
The gradual launch of the vaccine in most parts of the world is also boosting optimism, although it has barely started in some Asian countries, including Japan.
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Japan extended the state of emergency to the Tokyo area for another two weeks until March 21, asking restaurants and other businesses to close at 8 pm, while the government tries to keep the economy growing while reducing the spread of COVID-19 infections. .
The US economic aid package, approved by the Senate on Saturday, provides direct payments of up to $ 1,400 for most Americans and extends emergency unemployment benefits. It is a victory for President Joe Biden and his Democratic allies as final Congressional approval is expected this week.
In currency trading, the US dollar advanced from 108.34 yen to 108.42 Japanese yen. The euro cost $ 1.1904, compared to $ 1.1919.
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AP business writer Cathy Bussewitz contributed.