Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange
Source: The New York Stock Exchange
US stock futures barely changed on Monday night when Wall Street tried to extend its hot period in February.
Futures contracts linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained one point or less than 0.1%. Those for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 also floated near the flat line.
The futures movement comes after the three main indices hit record highs again on Monday. The Dow and S&P 500 have now completed six consecutive sessions, while the Nasdaq Composite is green on five of those six days.
The Russell 2000 led the way on Monday, jumping 2.5% to its own record high. The index has gained almost 16% since the beginning of the year.
A strong earnings season and improved data on the Covid pandemic and vaccinations are two factors that will help the stocks rise, said Victoria Fernandez, chief market strategist at Crossmark Global Investments. She also said that some underlying data in last week’s job report, including an increase in man hours, was encouraging, even if headline numbers showed a lukewarm rebound.
Given these trends, it would take a major change in the environment to cause more than a small retreat, Fernandez said.
“To change the narrative, it would have to be something pretty significant,” Fernandez said. “It would have to be something that really changes expectations of what’s going to happen to the job market, or what happens to vaccines, or the guidelines we get from companies about revenue.”
The solid run for stocks has come as Washington lawmakers appear to be nearing another economic relief bill, even as the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump begins. House Democrats on Monday revealed the details of a relief proposal that included direct checks worth $ 1,400 with faster exit options than previous bills.
On Tuesday, the NFIB Small Business Survey and the Department of Labor’s job vacancies and turnover data will provide more information to investors on the state of the economic recovery. DuPont and Goodyear Tire will release their latest earnings ahead of the New York market opening.
There are also several large tech companies that will be reporting profits on Tuesday afternoon, including Twitter and Cisco.
James Bullard, St. Louis Fed President, is due to speak at 12 noon ET.
