Here are five things to know before Monday, December 28:
1.- Stock futures soar as Trump signs stimulus bill
Stock futures rallied Monday after President Donald Trump signed a combined $ 2.3 trillion coronavirus and government funding package, reversing demand for larger $ 2,000 support controls and averting a government shutdown.
Contracts linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit 178 points, S&P 500 futures were up 26 points and Nasdaq futures were up 89 points.
Trump had delayed signing the bill, suggesting he would block it if stimulus vouchers weren’t increased to $ 2,000 of the $ 600 Congress approved last week, and if spending weren’t scaled back.
But by delaying the signing, as many as 14 million Americans lost a week in comprehensive unemployment benefits.
The massive bill includes $ 900 billion in pandemic aid and $ 1.4 trillion in government spending to fund federal agencies through the end of next September’s fiscal year.
The stimulus “could support the market, support the US economy,” Suresh Tantia, strategist at Credit Suisse, told Bloomberg. “Next year, all the building blocks will be in place for markets to continue this rally.”
The S&P 500 is up nearly 15% in 2020. On Thursday, the last trading session before Christmas, the S&P 500 rose 0.36%, the Dow 0.23% and the Nasdaq 0.26%.
2.- Coronavirus – the latest
The number of confirmed deaths worldwide from Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, rose to nearly 1.77 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. Confirmed cases of the virus around the world have risen to 80.83 million.
The death toll in the US is 333,129, the highest number in the world. The number of people infected in the US was 19,136,158.
According to data from the university, there were 226,274 new cases of coronavirus and 1,663 deaths in the US on Sunday.
California hospital admissions soared to a record high after the state added 50,141 cases, one of the highest levels since a record two weeks ago, Bloomberg reported. The total number of fatalities in California has risen to 24,220.
The Covid-19 vaccine made by AstraZeneca (AZN) – Request report and Oxford University could be approved by the UK as early as this week, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the case.
The approval would come about three weeks after the UK became the first Western country to immunize its citizens with a Covid-19 vaccine, the shot made by Pfizer PFE and BioNTech BNTX.
AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said on Sunday that researchers believe the British drug maker’s shot will be effective against a new variant of the virus that has rapidly increased infection rates in Britain.
3. – China orders Ant Group to review its activities
US-listed shares of Alibaba (BABA) – Request report dropped 1% in premarket trading on Monday after Chinese regulators ordered Ant Group to review its lending and other consumer financial activities.
Alibaba has a 33% stake in Ant Group, the world’s largest financial technology company.
The People’s Bank of China announcement came just days after regulators began an anti-monopoly investigation of Alibaba, the e-commerce giant. It also followed the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s suspension last month of Ant Group’s upcoming $ 37 billion listing, which would have been the world’s largest IPO.
Regulators said in a statement Sunday that they have mandated Ant Group to draft a recovery plan and implement a timetable for the overhaul of its businesses, including its credit, insurance and asset management services.
Alibaba’s US certificates fell 0.99% in premarket trading to $ 219.81. ADRs fell more than 13% on Thursday after news of the anti-monopoly investigation.
4.- Bitcoin Crashes $ 28,000
Bitcoin soared to a record high of more than $ 28,000 early Sunday, rising in recent days as institutional investors and speculators jumped on board the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin surpassed $ 25,000 on Friday evening and then raced past $ 26,000 and $ 27,000 on the weekend, according to CoinDesk. At the last check, bitcoin was trading at $ 26,758.
Bloomberg noted that bitcoin’s outrageous returns in October, November and December is the longest period so far since mid-2019.
Bitcoin first crossed $ 20,000 on December 16.
Many experts believe there is more profit to be made for bitcoin – some expect it to trade in excess of $ 30,000. But if investors and speculators lose faith in the digital currency, it could easily collapse, such as in February and March, and from December 2017 to December 2018.
5. – Economic calendar this week
US economic calendar Monday is light, but data on home sales, jobless claims and trade will be released later in the week.
Very few companies will be publishing earnings reports this week. Those who will become include SINA (SINA) – Request report, Weibo (WB) – Request report and CSP Inc. (CSPI) – Request report.