NASDAQ,DOW futures rise ahead of final trade week of 2020 as Trump restores COVID aid package

Stock futures rose slightly in overnight trading on Sunday ahead of the final trading week of 2020.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 149 points. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures also traded in mildly positive territory as  U.S. President Trump on Sunday signed into law a $2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package, restoring unemployment benefits to millions of Americans and averting a federal government shutdown in a crisis of his own making.

The signing came days after Trump suggested he would veto the legislation, demanding $2,000 direct payments to Americans, instead of $600.

“I am signing this bill to restore unemployment benefits, stop evictions, provide rental assistance, add money for PPP, return our airline workers back to work, add substantially more money for vaccine distribution, and much more,” Trump said in a statement.

Global share prices ticked up in response to the news that Trump had passed the stimulus plan and backed away from a government spending crisis.

U.S. S&P futures and Japan’s Nikkei index gained around 0.4%, and spot gold prices rose nearly 1%. “It is positive for markets that we no longer have a chaos over stimulus, considering there was a chance of a partial government shutdown,” said Masahiro Ichikawa, chief strategist at Sumimoto Mitsui DS Asset Management.

Wall Street is coming off a quiet holiday week where the major averages posted flat returns. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% last week as some investors cashed upon into the year-end.

The 30-stock Dow marginally gained 0.1% for the same period.

Profit-taking could ramp up in the final week of the year, which has so far seen surprisingly strong returns.

The S&P 500 has gained 14.6% year to date, while the Dow has climbed 5.8%. The Nasdaq has soared 42.7% this year as investors favored high-growth technology names during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned on Sunday that the country could see a surge in new Covid-19 infections after the New Year’s celebrations , thereby issuing a warning to celebrate the new year at a  low key.