Stock futures add to record stimulus hopes



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US equity futures were trading higher after a record day on Wall Street.

The main forward indices suggest a gain of 0.1% for the Dow Jones and a rise of 0.4% for the Nasdaq.

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Hopes were high that President Biden’s administration will mean more support for the struggling US economy.

A multitude of profits and economic reports can shape the direction of the trading day.

The parade of fourth quarter results continues, with three members of Dow due to report on Thursday. We’ll hear from travelers from the property and casualty insurer in the morning, with the technology heavyweights IBM and Intel posting after the closing bell.

Economically, the Department of Labor will report on new claims for unemployment benefits for the past week. Watch for a decrease from 55,000 to 910,000.

The Commerce Department is expected to say that the number of new homes built in December rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.56 million, the highest since February. Permits for future construction are expected to fall to 1.604 million from 1.635 million, the highest level recorded since August 2006.

Finally, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve will release its January manufacturing activity index for eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware. It is expected to drop to 12.0 from 9.1 in December. A reading above zero means more manufacturers are saying business conditions are improving.

In Europe, London’s FTSE was little changed, Germany’s DAX added 0.4% and France’s CAC lost 0.1%.

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In Asia, the Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.8%, the Hang Seng of Hong Kong fell 0.1% and the Shanghai Composite of China rose 1.1%.

Data released by Japan’s finance ministry showed the world’s third-largest economy could be heading for a recovery, with December’s exports rising for the first time in two years.

In Wednesday’s session on Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 1.4%, surpassing its previous all-time high set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite also hit record highs.

Teleprinter security Latest Change Change%
I: DJI MEDIUM DOW JONES 31,188.38 +257.86 + 0.83%
SP500 S&P 500 3851.85 +52.94 + 1.39%
I: COMP NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX 13457.247715 +260.07 + 1.97%

Biden took a flurry of management action during his early hours as president. He also presented a plan to inject another $ 1.9 trillion into the struggling economy, hoping to act quickly as his Democratic Party now controls the White House and both houses of Congress.

The hope on Wall Street was that such a stimulus will help support the economy until later this year, when more widespread COVID-19 vaccinations draw nearer to daily life.

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In energy trading, benchmark US crude fell 36 cents to $ 52.96 per barrel. Brent, the international standard, fell 36 cents to $ 55.72 a barrel.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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