Dow futures rose during overnight trading on Monday, putting the index on track to extend the rally from the regular session.
Dow futures were up about 185 points. S&P 500 futures were up 0.5% and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.6%.
On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied more than 300 points amid investor optimism about the pandemic’s economic comeback. At the highest level of the session, the average of 30 stocks jumped 650 points to hit an intraday record.
The optimism was sparked in part by the Senate passing a $ 1.9 trillion economic relief and stimulus bill on Saturday, which will include another round of stimulus controls. Banks, airlines, cruise lines and retailers all merged in hopes of a sharp economic recovery.
In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday that people fully vaccinated against Covid-19 can meet safely indoors without masks. The announcement came after the US hit 3 million vaccinations this weekend.
Meanwhile, technology stocks continued their recent weakness as the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.4%. The tech-heavy benchmark closed more than 10% below its Feb. 12 high and fell into correction territory.
The S&P 500 also ended the day down about 0.5%, down by shares of Tesla, PayPal, Etsy and Advanced Micro Devices.
The fast-growing names have recently been under pressure from rising interest rates. The yield on 10-year US Treasuries was around 1.6% on Monday. However, hedge fund manager David Tepper said the recent sharp rise in interest rates is likely to be over and it is difficult to be bearish for stocks at this point.
“Monday’s first rally was mainly due to news over the weekend that President Biden’s aid package was over,” Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at the Leuthold Group, told CNBC. “Ultimately, however, stock investors are currently obsessed with the bond yields that keep the technology sectors Nasdaq and S&P 500 under pressure all day long. Technology stocks intensified at the close.”
“Nevertheless, most of the stock market had a good day as small-cap stocks and several reopening sectors posted healthy gains,” said Paulsen.
The small-cap benchmark Russell 2000 gained about 0.5% on Monday.