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S&P 500 Futures gain half a percent towards 3,800 as markets brace for Biden welcome

  • S&P 500 Futures extend Monday’s recovery moves amid a quiet Asian session.
  • Yellen’s prepared remarks for Tuesday’s Senate speech favor Biden’s stimulus.
  • Virus woes recede amid vaccine optimism, light calendar tames market moves.

S&P 500 Futures probe the intraday high while taking the bids near 3,783 during early Tuesday. The risk barometer rises for the second consecutive day as global markets prepare for a good welcome party for US President-elect Joe Biden and company, maybe due to his fiscal relief goals. Also favoring the tone could be an absence of major negatives from the economic calendar and the coronavirus (COVID-19) front.

While fears of the widening budget deficit and the Fed’s uneasy face initially raised doubts on the Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus, recently published prepared comments from Janet Yellen, to be US Treasury Secretary, favored the move while citing the record low-interest rates. The ex-Fed Chair is up for her first Senate speech as the incoming Biden official on Tuesday.

It should be noted that US President Donald Trump’s easing of travel restrictions from Europe and Brazil, likely to be challenged by Biden and Company, also favored the risks.

On the contrary, China reports an increase of nine covid cases while the number of people hospitalized for covid-19 up for the second day at 25,584, more than one month high. It should be noted that the virus-led restrictions in the UK, Japan and the US are likely to weigh on the upcoming economics and challenge the risk-on mood.

Amid these plays, stocks in Japan and Australia gain over 1.0% while the US 10-year Treasury yields stay positive around 1.10% by press time.

Looking forward, Yellen’s speech will be the key for markets ahead of Wednesday’s inaugural ceremony of US President-elect Joe Biden. Also important will be tomorrow’s monetary policy meeting by the ECB.

Also read: AUD/USD: Risk-on mood, upbeat second-tier Aussie data back bulls attacking 0.7700

Author

Anil Panchal

Anil Panchal

FXStreet

Anil Panchal has nearly 15 years of experience in tracking financial markets. With a keen interest in macroeconomics, Anil aptly tracks global news/updates and stays well-informed about the global financial moves and their implications.

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