Stock market news live updates: Stock futures rise in late trading, extending earlier gains
Stock futures opened slightly higher as the overnight session began on Wednesday.
After the close of the regular trading day, a majority of members in the House of Representatives voted Wednesday to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time, making him the first U.S. president in history to be impeached twice. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, however, said he would not call back members of the Senate early before January 19 to hold the impeachment trial, suggesting Trump would serve out the rest of his term. The trial could still take place once Trump leaves office.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq drifted higher on Wednesday and largely looked through the debates in the House ahead of the impeachment vote. Equities are likely to continue shrugging off the ongoing tension in Washington, according to many strategists.
"The market cares about fundamentals, it cares about profits, it cares about consumer demand," Eddie Ghabour, managing partner at Key Advisors Group, told Yahoo Finance on Wednesday. "So these are headline risks … But look, we had people worried about the election, that proved to be nothing that hurt the market there. People were worried about the runoff election in Georgia. These are just, again, headline risks. They have nothing to do with the fundamentals of the equities, and that's why the market is going to continue to ignore these things, in my opinion."
Instead, the prospects of more stimulus – both from Congress and from the Federal Reserve – have helped buoy equities even after stocks' strong run-up last year and at the beginning of 2021. Stocks have been in a holding pattern over the past couple of sessions as investors await the start of the Biden administration, which in tandem with a Democratic House and Senate, is likely to produce substantial additional fiscal stimulus to support individuals and businesses and boost consumer spending.
"We're still in an economy that is struggling because of the pandemic, and until we put the virus behind us and we can truly open up the economy and get it back to what we were doing, or close to what we were doing, prior to coronavirus, I think stimulus is needed and it's important," Jason Ware, Albion Financial Group chief investment officer, told Yahoo Finance.
"As we look at the new administration in Washington and a Congress that's tilted toward the Democrats, we do expect more stimulus to come down the line," Ware added. "It's probably not going to happen over the next couple of weeks, but certainly by the spring an extension of unemployment benefits for those who are still out of work, maybe a boost to what they're getting on a weekly basis, and fresh stimulus checks closer to $2,000 might be something that has an appetite in Washington."
On Thursday, investors are set to receive new economic data including the Labor Department's weekly report on new jobless claims, which is expected to show a tick higher in the number of initial unemployment claims last week. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will deliver virtual remarks with the Princeton University Bendheim Center for Finance, adding to the parade of Federal Reserve speakers offering their economic outlooks this week.
6:03 p.m. ET Wednesday: Stock futures open higher
Here were the main moves in markets, as of 6:03 p.m. ET Wednesday:
S&P 500 futures (ES=F): 3,807.25, up 3.5 points or 0.09%
Dow futures (YM=F): 30,992.00, up 33 points or 0.11%
Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): 12,973.5, up 1.25 points or 0.01%
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Posted in BusinessTagged President Donal, Stock futures
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