A woman passes the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Wall Street on January 12, 2021 in New York City.
ANGELA WEISS | AFP | Getty Images
U.S. stock futures soared in Sunday morning trading, pointing to a strong opening on the first day of March trading.
Dow futures were up 135 points. S&P 500 futures gained 0.6% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.7%.
Boosting sentiment in front of the vaccine, the advisory panel of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention voted unanimously on Sunday to recommend the use of Johnson & Johnson’s One-shot Covid-19 vaccine for people 18 years of age or older. The company expects to ship 4 million doses initially.
Last week, stocks were pressured by rising interest rates. Higher interest rates can threaten stock ownership, as bonds are seen as less risky. Yield on the 10-year benchmark reached 1.6% on Thursday, but dropped to about 1.41% on Friday.
10-year Treasury futures soared in the early morning trading, implying that yields would fall on Monday. Prices move inversely to income.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 lost 1.7% and 2.5%, respectively, between Monday and Friday.
The high-tech Nasdaq Composite fell more than 4% over the week, suffering its worst one-day sale since October on Thursday. Technology companies depend on the ability to borrow money at a low rate to invest in future growth.
“The volatility of the bond market has reached its highest level since April and until some calm and some new level of peak yields are found, this will be the main focus for investors,” said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Leuthold Group, to CNBC.
The main averages rose for February, driven by a strong profit season, positive news about the vaccine launch and hopes for another stimulus package.
The House passed a $ 1.9 trillion Covid relief bill, the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, early Saturday. The Senate will now consider the legislation.
The Dow Jones gained 3.15% for the third positive month in four, in February. The S&P 500 gained 2.61% and the Nasdaq Composite gained almost 1% for the fourth consecutive positive month.
February’s final reading of Markit’s manufacturing purchasing managers index for February will be released on Monday at 9:45 am Eastern Time. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect a reading of 58.5, the same as the December reading of 58.5.
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