Stock futures trade higher before the first opening bell of 2021

US Equity Futures Turned higher after trading in negative territory earlier on Monday ahead of the first opening bell of 2021 on Wall Street.

On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.6% to a high of 3,756.07 on Thursday, the last trading day of 2020. It ended the year 16.3% higher, or a total return of around 18.4% in dividends.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7% to 30,606.48 points. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.1% to 12,888.28.

Trade futures shares before the final trading day of the year

Vaccine development by American, European and Chinese producers helped boost investor optimism that a return to normalcy may be closer after the worst global economic downturn since the 1930s.

The United States and Britain approved the Pfizer vaccine, and Britain approved a second vaccine from AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. China approved its first domestically developed vaccine. Others are tested.

Kerry Craig of JPMorgan Asset Management said in a report that governments may not receive the same amount of stimulus on their economies as they did last year, but that the policy “remains in a very loose position”, supporting equity prices and lending.

“Investors should look through the bumpy start of the new economic cycle and focus on improved earnings outlook,” Craig said.

Stephen Innes of Ax said in a report that optimism about vaccines outweighs concerns about rising numbers of infections in the United States and some other countries and the struggle over economic aid in Washington.

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Ennis said that traders “may be a bit enthusiastic” but believe that the vaccines “will provide a final economic start, and provide a strong boost to corporate profits.”

Meanwhile, Asian stock markets also showed gains on Monday in the first trading day of 2021, buoyed by optimism about coronavirus vaccines after Wall Street ended the year at a new high.

Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney advanced. Tokyo refused.

The Shanghai Composite rose 0.8% to 3,499.02 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.5% to 27,366.10.

The Nikkei 225 Index in Tokyo fell 0.7% to 27243.14 after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the government is considering declaring a state of emergency in the Japanese capital and three surrounding prefectures due to the high number of virus cases.

Suga called on restaurants and bars to close by 8 p.m. and said it would be difficult to restart the travel promotion program that was suspended last month. He said the government will speed up approval of coronavirus vaccines and start offering injections in February.

The Kospi in Seoul rose 2.4% to 2,943.11 and the S & P-ASX 200 in Sydney rose 1.5% to 6684.20.

Indian Sensex opened up less than 0.1% at 47,923.24. Singapore and Jakarta also advanced, while Bangkok retreated.

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In energy markets, record US crude rose 56 cents to $ 49.08 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 12 cents on Thursday to $ 48.52. Brent crude, used in international oil pricing, rose 67 cents to $ 52.47 a barrel in London. It rose 17 cents in the previous session, to $ 51.80.

The dollar fell to 103.03 yen from 103.27 on Thursday. The euro rose to $ 1.2254 from $ 1.2211.