High markets hours before the bell opens, with investors feeling more confident

U.S. stock futures are trading higher ahead of Monday’s opening bell on Wall Street.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 ended last week with its fifth consecutive gain and its biggest weekly increase since November. The benchmark index rose 0.4% and ended the week 4.6% higher, more than offsetting the fall in January. The most recent gain pushed the S&P 500 to another historic record.BIDEN CLIMATE ACTIONS TO DRIVE ELECTRICITY PRICES

The Nasdaq compound also ended the week with a record high. Small business stocks fared even better than the broader market, a sign that investors are feeling more optimistic about the economy.

The S&P 500 index rose 0.4% to 3,886.83. His weekly gain was the biggest since November. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3% to 31,148.24. The Nasdaq rose 0.6% to 13,856.30. The Russell 2000 stock index for smaller companies rose 1.4% to 2,233.33, a record high.

U.S. stock futures are trading higher ahead of Monday’s opening bell on Wall Street. (Nicole Pereira / New York Stock Exchange via AP)

Investors are focused on the prospect of further stimulus. President Joe Biden urged Democratic lawmakers this week to “act fast” in his economic stimulus plan.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks rose mostly on Monday, echoing the recovery on Wall Street last week, with Japan’s benchmark momentarily hitting a three-decade high with growing optimism about the global economy.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 2.1% in morning trading to 29,378.18. Australia’s S & P / ASX 200 increased 0.8% to 6,897.80. South Korea’s Kospi fell almost 0.4% to 3,109.14. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped almost 1.0% to 29,575.61, while Shanghai Composite rose 0.8% to 3,525.58.

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Analysts expect the world economy to grow this year, following a contraction last year because of the pandemic. Asian export-oriented countries such as Japan, South Korea and China are expected to receive a major boost with the recovery.

Investors were encouraged by surprisingly good corporate earnings reports, news that a recent increase in new coronavirus cases is declining and progress in vaccine distribution.

In Asia, some companies have been hit by the effects of border controls and remote work on COVID-19. But others have made big gains, such as Japanese video game company Nintendo Co. People trapped at home have turned en masse to Nintendo games, and the company, which has sometimes struggled, appears to be heading for record profits this year.

Venkateswaran Lavanya, of Mizuho Bank’s Department of the Treasury of Asia and Oceania, noted that the euphoria was mixed with reality tests on vaccines being slowly distributed around the world.

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“South Korea is relaxing measures of social detachment, while Japan is considering suspending the emergency in certain prefectures if the situation improves,” Lavanya said of the other positive developments for the economy.

“In this scenario, the Japanese stock market is expected to close at its peak since 1991,” she said.

In the energy trade, US benchmark oil rose 52 cents to $ 57.37 a barrel in e-commerce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. He earned 62 cents on Friday, to $ 56.85 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 48 cents to $ 59.82 a barrel.

In currencies, the US dollar rose to 105.49 yen from 105.37 yen. The euro cost $ 1.2035, compared to $ 1.2042.