Wall St is expected to start calmly in the final trading session of 2020

(Reuters) – US stocks were expected to open muted in the last trading session of a tumultuous year on Thursday, as investors digested the big market gains and hoped more coronavirus stimuli and vaccines will lead to a strong economic recovery in 2021.

All three of Wall Street’s major indices hit record highs this week in a stunning recovery since March, when the COVID-19 pandemic triggered the deepest global recession in generations and left millions of Americans unemployed.

Unprecedented levels of central bank and government stimulus have helped the benchmark S&P 500 rise nearly 70% from its March low and put it on track for an annual gain of more than 15%.

The Nasdaq is expected to post a 43% jump, its best annual performance since 2009, benefiting from a surge in tech mega-caps such as Alphabet Inc, Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc, Facebook Inc and Netflix Inc.

Yet major global economies are grappling with an increase in the number of cases, with a highly infectious variant of COVID-19 – originally discovered in Britain – detected in California, a day after the first known US case has been documented in Colorado.

“Vaccine versus accelerating case … that will be the story of the market for the first two months,” said Christopher Grisanti, chief equity strategist at MAI Capital Management. “The vaccine will win. The market remains solid in the first half of 2021. ”

A favorable US election result, large-scale vaccination campaigns, steadily improving economic data, and signs that a fiscal stimulus deal will finally be struck in Washington have helped Wall Street continue its rally.

Short-term expectations of larger stimulus checks have faded after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked a quick vote on Wednesday in support of President Donald Trump’s call to increase COVID-relief checks. $ 19 to $ 2000 from $ 600.

Meanwhile, a US Department of Labor report showed the number of Americans who first filed for unemployment benefits fell for the second week in a row, but remains high more than nine months after the onset of the triggered crisis. by the pandemic.

All eyes are on two U.S. Senate races in Georgia next week that will determine control of the chamber and influence Democratic President-elect Joe Biden’s ability to implement his agenda.

At 8:49 am ET, Dow e-minis were down 10 points, or 0.03%, S&P 500 e-minis, 2 points, or 0.05%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down. up 6.5 points, or 0.05%.

Trading volumes are expected to be low with many traders absent on New Years Eve.