(For a live Reuters blog on the US, UK and European stock markets, click LIVE / or type LIVE / in a news window.)
* Travel, bank, energy stocks lead pre-market earnings
* Rising futures: Dow 0.5%, S&P 0.7%, Nasdaq 0.8% (add comment; update stock prices)
December 28 (Reuters) – The main Wall Street indices were set to open close to record levels on Monday, with President Donald Trump’s signature on a long-awaited $ 2.3 trillion pandemic aid account reinforced bets on an economic recovery, helping financial and energy stocks.
In a sudden reversal on Sunday night, Trump stepped back from his threat to block the much-disputed bill, restoring unemployment insurance for millions of Americans and preventing the federal government from shutting down.
“Trump signing the relief from COVID and the government spending bill has pushed uncertainty out of the way, and the market is now on autopilot – moving higher and higher in the new year,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist CFRA Research.
Turnover is expected to decline in the last week of the year, with stock markets closing on Friday for the New Year holiday.
The shares of the airlines were among those that won the most, since the payroll aid should provide some relief to the affected sector. Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines increased between 1.5% and 2.8% in the pre-market.
Bank shares, including those of Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs, rose between 0.8% and 1.2%.
The launch of vaccines and a series of stimulus measures put the S&P 500 on track to increase by about 15% this year, with part of the biggest boost coming from the heavyweights of technology Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc.
However, technology stocks have lost some gas in recent weeks, as less appreciated parts of the market, such as energy, finance and small caps, have taken on a central role in the hope of an economic recovery. Investors are also evaluating their bets on US technology stocks for the coming year, against a backdrop of expensive valuations and regulatory risks.
At 08:30 ET, the S&P 500 E-minis rose 26.5 points, or 0.72%, the Dow E-minis rose 156 points, or 0.51%, and the Nasdaq 100 E-minis rose 104.25 points, or 0.82%.
Democrats in the United States Congress will put to a vote on Monday a proposal for increased pandemic aid payments for Americans, although it seems unlikely to gain traction in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Fueling the global appetite for risk, Britain and the European Union closed a post-Brexit trade deal on Thursday, while the launch of a massive COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Europe over the weekend added to the upbeat mood. .
Alibaba Group’s US listed shares fell 1.6%, extending Thursday’s loss by 13.34% after China launched an antitrust investigation at the company. (Reporting by Devik Jain and Supriya R in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)