Window Dressing May Lead To Further Strength On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Tuesday, with stocks likely to see further upside after reaching new record highs in the previous session.

Stocks may benefit from window dressing, as some fund managers look to further boost their portfolios going into the end of the year.

With the new year approaching, the major averages are all posting notable gains year-to-date, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq soaring by 43.8 percent.

The S&P 500 has also surged up by 15.6 percent so far this year, while the narrower Dow has jumped by 6.5 percent.

The yearly advance comes as stocks have rebounded strongly following the sell-off seen in late February and early March as the coronavirus pandemic set in.

Some buying interest may also be generated in reaction to news that the House has approved a measure increasing the size of stimulus checks to $2,000 from $600.

The proposal has the support of President Donald Trump but is likely to face resistance from the Republican-controlled Senate.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he will push for a vote on the measure later today, arguing there is "no good reason for Senate Republicans to stand in the way."

With trading resuming following the long holiday weekend, stocks moved mostly higher during Monday's session. The advance on the day lifted the major averages to new record closing highs.

The major averages all finished the day firmly in positive territory. The Dow climbed 204.10 points or 0.7 percent to 30,403.97, the Nasdaq rose 94.69 points or 0.7 percent to 12,899.42 and the S&P 500 advanced 32.30 points or 0.9 percent to 3,735.36.

The strength on Wall Street came in reaction to news that President Donald Trump has finally signed a $2.3 trillion government spending bill that includes approximately $900 billion in coronavirus relief funds.

Trump had previously resisted signing the legislation, calling for $600 in direct payments to individuals to be increased to $2,000.

House Democrats are set to vote on an increase in the direct payments later today, while Trump has called on the Republican-controlled Senate to do the same.

Trading activity remained subdued, however, with many traders still away from their desks ahead of the New Year's Day holiday on Friday.

A lack of major U.S. economic data also kept traders on the sidelines, although reports on home prices, pending home sales, and weekly jobless claims may attract attention in the coming days.

Retail stocks showed a significant move to the upside on the day, driving the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index up by 1.7 percent The index ended the session at its best closing level in over two months.

Considerable strength was also visible among networking stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Networking Index.

Airline and commercial real estate stocks also saw some strength on the day, while natural gas, housing and biotechnology stocks moved to the downside.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are climbing $0.53 to $48.15 a barrel after sliding $0.61 to $47.62 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after slipping $2.80 to $1,880.40 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are rising $3.90 to $1,884.30 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 103.68 yen compared to the 103.81 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.2254 compared to yesterday's $1.2216.

Asia

Asian stock markets ended mostly higher on Tuesday as news about U.S. President Donald Trump signing a $2.3 trillion government spending bill and a post-Brexit trade agreement between the European Union and the U.K. lifted sentiment.

Investors also reacted to news that the U.S. House of Representatives approved Trump's proposal to increase stimulus checks to $2,000 from $600. The proposal will now go to the Republican-controlled Senate.

Japanese stocks hit their highest level in about 30 years, led by gains scored by major exporters thanks to a weaker yen. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index soared 714.12 points or 2.7 percent to 27,568.15.

Shares of transportation, paper & pulp, real estate, electric machinery, shipbuilding and precision instruments companies were in demand.

Among heavyweight stocks, Softbank, Fast Retailing, Tokyo Electron, Sony, Canon and Panasonic posted impressive gains.

Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma ended with a hefty gain after Myovant Sciences and Pfizer said on Monday that they have formed a collaboration to develop and commercialize relugolix in oncology and women's health in the U.S. and Canada. Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma's wholly-owned subsidiary is the majority shareholder of Myovant Sciences.

In the Australian markets, where trading resumed after a long weekend, information technology stocks turned in a fine performance. The telecom, industrial, banking and consumer discretionary sectors also had a good session.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index ended higher by 35.50 points or 0.5 percent at 6,700.30 after rising to a high of 6,725.10. The broader All Ordinaries Index ended up by 44.60 points or 0.6 percent at 6,962.10.

Omni Bridgeway Limited shares rallied 6.2 percent, topping the list of gainers in the S&P/ASX 200 Index. A2 Milk Company advanced nearly 6 percent, while Afterpay climbed 5.3 percent, WebJet gained 4.5 percent and Flight Centre Travel Group gained 4.3 percent.

Among the prominent losers, Beach Energy slid 4.3 percent and IDP Education ended lower by 2.4 percent. Reliance Worldwide Corporation, Ausnet Services and AUB Group shed 1.4 to 1.7 percent.

Among banking stocks, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking, Westpac and National Australia Bank moved higher. Fortescue Metals was among the prominent gainers in the mining space, while Woodside Petroleum moved up sharply to figure among the top gainers in the energy section.

Meanwhile, Chinese stocks moved to the downside. The Shanghai Composite Index ended down 18.25 points or 0.5 percent at 3,379.04. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index moved up by a little over 1%.

In economic news, a report from the Bank of Korea said its Composite Consumer Sentiment Index came in with a score of 89.8, down sharply from 97.9 in November.

Consumer sentiment regarding current living standards was three points lower than in November at 86, and the reading concerning the future outlook for living standards was five points lower at 89.

Europe

European stocks are trading higher on Tuesday, extending gains from the previous session, as investors' hopes for an economic recovery have been raised following a post-Brexit trade deal between European Union and the U.K. as well as U.S. President Donald Trump's signing of a hefty spending bill.

Investors are positive after Trump signed a $900 billion coronavirus economic aid package and a $1.4 trillion package to fund government agencies, averting a federal government shutdown that would have started on Tuesday.

While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has spiked by 2.1 percent following the long weekend, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.4 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.1 percent.

In subdued trading in the week between Christmas and the upcoming new year holiday on Friday, investor sentiment also reflects the decision by the U.S. House of Representatives to back Trump's proposal for increasing the direct payments in the coronavirus relief package to $2,000 from $600.

In Covid-19 news, the European Union has undertaken a massive coronavirus vaccination drive, even though there are concerns over the spread of a new coronavirus variant. As per reports, the U.K. is expected to approve the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine this week.

On the economic front, Sweden's imports for the month of November were down 2 percent from last year, and exports were down 3 percent.

As per survey results from IHS Markit, Austria's manufacturing sector continued to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. The headline UniCredit Bank Austria Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 53.5 in December from 51.7 in the previous month.

Meanwhile, Turkey's economic confidence decreased in December, figures from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed. Portugal's November retail sales were down 5.1 percent on year, compared to 0.4 percent drop in October.

Shares of software giant SAP SE have jumped after the company said its unit Qualtrics International Inc. has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering of common shares.

Vectura has also moved to the upside after confirming that GlaxoSmithKline has not sought to petition the U.S. Court of Appeals for a re-hearing in their ongoing Ellipta litigation.

Wizz Air has also moved higher. The airline said its Board has decided to serve restricted share notices on non-qualifying national shareholders.

Car insurance provider Admiral Group Plc stock has also advanced after it reached an agreement to sell Penguin Portals Group to to RVU, the comparison division of ZPG Comparison Services Holdings UK Limited.

U.S. Economic Reports

Standard & Poor's is scheduled to release its report on home prices on major metropolitan areas in the month of October at 9 am ET. Home prices are expected to increase by 6.9 percent year-over-year.

At 1 pm ET, the Treasury Department is due to announce the result of its auction of $59 billion worth of seven-year notes.

Stocks In Focus

Shares of Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) are moving sharply higher in pre-market trading after CFO Thomas Donohue told the Wall Street Journal he expects the campus bookstore chain to continue slashing costs as another semester of remote learning approaches.

Alkermes (ALKS) is also likely to see initial strength after announcing the FDA has accepted the biopharmaceutical company's resubmission of its application for ALKS 3831 for the treatment of adults with schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder.

On the other hand, shares of Arcturus Therapeutics (ARCT) are likely to come under pressure after the biotechnology company provided clinical and preclinical data for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, ARCT-021.