U.S. markets fall as investors worry about the effects of possible second impeachment of Trump

NEW YORK – U.S. stock futures are down with the start of a new week on Wall Street on Monday, with reports that President-elect Joe Biden will launch a new economic stimulus plan this week, while investors worry with the effects of a possible second impeachment trial for President Donald Trump.

Traders remained enthusiastic about the prospect that the new government would inject more aid into the US economy, a move that will help Asia and other export-driven nations.

Wall Street ended last week with more milestones, largely ignoring another dismal job report. The S&P 500 rose 0.5%, its second consecutive record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq compound closed at new highs.

OPEC OUTPUT CUTS MUST HELP US SHALE PROFITS IN 2021

The S&P 500 rose 20.89 points to 3,824.68. The Dow rose 0.2% to 31,097.97. The Nasdaq rose 1% to 13,201.98. The Russell 2000 index of low capitalization stocks fell 0.2%, to 2,091.66. It ended the week with a gain of 5.9%, well ahead of the 1.8% gain of major stocks in the S&P 500.

Hopes are high for the launch of coronavirus vaccines. But reports of new versions of the virus are raising new concerns, as some experts believe more studies are needed to see whether available vaccines will be effective in containing these versions of the virus.

U.S. stock futures are down with a new week on Wall Street starting on Monday, with reports that President-elect Joe Biden will launch a new economic stimulus plan this week, while investors worry about the effects of a possible second impeachment trial for

Meanwhile, Asian stocks were mixed on Monday as hopes for more US economic aid were dashed by fears of damage from the pandemic.

South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.2% to 3,157.72. Australia’s S & P / ASX 200 lost 0.9% to 6,697.20. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.2% to 27,943.86, while Shanghai Composite fell 0.9% to 3,539.88.

Japanese markets were closed due to a national holiday. In addition to concerns about the growing number of coronavirus infections, another new variant of the virus was reported over the weekend among several people who arrived from Brazil.

DISCOVER FOX BUSINESS ON THE MOVE BY CLICKING HERE

“A resurgence of COVID infections, with evidence of new, more infectious strains settling in Asia, in addition to the West, suggests that recovery and vaccine hopes also go after the Tiger,” said Venkateswaran Lavanya of Bank Mizuho in Singapore, referring to the danger of the situation.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has taken care to save the world’s third largest economy as much as possible from the risks of sinking even further, even with the recent increase in coronavirus cases.

Suga’s declaration of a state of emergency for the Tokyo area, which began on Friday, focuses on asking restaurants to close at 8 pm. Critics fear this is not enough and Suga’s support rates are declining. Screams for his expulsion are likely to increase if the upward curb on infections doesn’t subside in a month, as he promised.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT FOX BUSINESS

In the energy trade, US benchmark oil dropped 59 cents to $ 51.65 a barrel in e-commerce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. He earned $ 1.41 to $ 52.24 a barrel on Friday. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 89 cents to $ 55.10 a barrel.

In currency trading, the US dollar rose to 104.12 Japanese yen from 103.95. The euro cost $ 1.2188, compared to $ 1.2220.

___

AP business writers Stan Choe, Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga contributed.