Stock Market Today: Dow, S&P Live Updates for January 25, 2021

Photographer: Nicolas Asfouri / AFP / Getty Images

Asian stocks, U.S. and European equities futures rose Monday as investors focused on the prospect of additional fiscal stimulus and Federal Reserve supportive policies amid the worsening pandemic. The dollar has fallen.

Stocks outperformed Japanese equities in South Korea and Hong Kong. US futures contracts showed higher, with Nasdaq 100 contracts advancing this week with a string of technical earnings reports. The S&P 500 declined on Friday over sobering virus trends. Treasury yields have risen.

Hong Kong stock market boosts Tencent Holdings Ltd. The internet giant has become the best target for traders from mainland China flooding record amounts of cash to Hong Kong –listed shares this year.

Global equities are nearing all-time highs as the outstretched stimulus ensures concern over additional coronavirus closures and the inexhaustible rollout of vaccines, leading to a tighter start for the global economy in 2021 than previously expected.

U.S. lawmakers are struggling over President Joe Biden’s proposed $ 1.9 billion Covid-19 assistance plan, but investors are still expecting some additional expenses to eventually materialize. Traders are also in the hope that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, after Wednesday’s policy meeting, will give the assurance that $ 120 billion in monthly bond purchases will not decrease any time soon.

“Investors are seeing continued monetary policy and more fiscal stimulus,” said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex. “Along with the deployment of the vaccine, it will generate a critical mass of more robust economic growth as the year progresses.”

Global cases of coronavirus are approaching the 100 million mark, and the US is increasing surveillance of virus variants to monitor its impact on vaccinations. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said in a tweet that he was infected with Covid-19.

Elsewhere, oil and gold were steady and Bitcoin traded at about $ 33,000 after tumbling last week.

These are some important events ahead in the coming week:

• Microsoft Corp., Apple Inc., Tesla Inc., Facebook Inc., UBS Group AG and Samsung Electronics Co. counts among the companies that deliver results.
• Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to speaks on Monday during the World Economic Forum’s “The Davos Agenda 2021” online event.
• The Governor of the People’s Bank of China, Yi Gang, and the Chief Economist of the European Central Bank, Philip Lane, talk about this conference on Monday.
• Data on U.S. house prices and consumer confidence come Tuesday.
• The Federal Public Market Committee’s monetary policy decision and briefing by Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled for Wednesday.
• Fourth-quarter GDP, initial unemployment claims and new home sales are among U.S. data on Thursday.
• U.S. personal income, spending and pending home sales come Friday.

These are the main movements in markets:

Stocks

• S&P 500 futures have risen 0.4% in Tokyo since 14:36. The S&P 500 fell 0.3% on Friday.
• Japan’s Topix index has changed little.
• South Korea’s Kospi index added 2.1%.
• Hang Seng Index rose 1.9%.
• Australia’s S & P / ASX 200 index rose 0.4%.
• Shanghai Composite added 0.6%.
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.3%.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%.
• The yen was at 103.69 per dollar, up 0.1%.
• The foreign yuan rose 0.2% to 6.4838 per dollar.
• The euro was at $ 1.2181.
• The British pound added 0.2% to $ 1.3714.

Effects

• The return on 10-year treasury was 1.09%.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude was low at $ 52.29 a barrel.
• Gold has changed little at $ 1,855 per ounce.

– With assistance by Joanna Ossinger