(For a Reuters live blog on US, UK and European stock markets, click LIVE / or type LIVE / in a news box.)
Tesla Invests $ 1.5 Billion in Bitcoin; crypto stocks are jumping
* Disney and Cisco are ahead of results this week
* Futures up: Dow 0.45%, S&P 0.37%, Nasdaq 0.41% (Add comment, details; update prices)
Feb. 8 (Reuters) – Wall Street’s major indices were set to hit record highs at opening on Monday as investors made risky bets on the hope that a tax relief package would lead to a rapid economic recovery.
Oil prices rose to their highest level in more than a year, pushing Marathon Oil Corp, Schlumberger NV, Exxon Mobil Corp, Chevron Corp and Occidental Petroleum Corp up between 1% and 1.9% premarket.
Last week, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq had their best weekly performances since the US election in early November, based on positive earnings and economic data.
Sentiment was also bolstered by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s comment on Sunday that if Congress approves the $ 1.9 trillion plan, the country would return to full employment next year.
The U.S. Congress approved a budget plan on Friday that allows a coronavirus control bill to pass without Republican backing in the coming weeks.
“There is an increasing chance that the $ 1.9 trillion stimulus will be much closer than a lower number,” said Jim Besaw, chief investment officer at GenTrust in Florida.
“There could be a potential downturn after a stimulus package is unloaded – buy the rumor, sell the fact.”
Progress in vaccination efforts and positive results in the fourth quarter have helped investors shake off fears of a short-term pullback in stocks due to high valuations and increasing coronavirus infections.
Bitcoin surged to a record high by more than 10% after Tesla Inc said it invested approximately $ 1.5 billion in the cryptocurrency and would begin accepting bitcoin payments for its cars and other products.
Tesla shares were up about 2%, while cryptocurrency miners Riot Blockchain and Marathon Patent Group were each up more than 20%.
At 8:33 AM ET, Dow E-minis were up 140 points, or 0.45% and S&P 500 E-minis were up 14.25 points, or 0.37%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 56 points, or 0.41%.
Walt Disney Co, Cisco Systems Inc and General Motors Co were up between 1.6% and 2.8% higher than their earnings reports this week.
According to Refinitiv IBES data, the S&P 500 companies were now on track to post fourth quarter earnings growth, contrary to a previous forecast of a decline.
Hasbro Inc rose 2.2% after the toy maker beat analyst estimates for quarterly earnings due to increased demand for its board games and “Magic: The Gathering” cards. (Reported by Devik Jain, Shreyashi Sanyal and Medha Singh in Bengaluru; edited by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Arun Koyyur)