US open: Major indices look set to end 2020 at record highs

Wall Street stocks opened higher on Wednesday as major indices looked set to attempt to reclaim some of their record highs in one of the final sessions of the year.

As of 1525 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.40% at 30,457.97, while the S&P 500 started out the session 0.33% firmer at 3,739.45 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.34% stronger at 12,893.71.

The Dow opened 122.30 points higher on Wednesday, reversing losses recorded in the previous session after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked Democratic Party efforts to push through a bill that would increase stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000.

Donald Trump has voiced his support for higher payments, stating that "$600 IS NOT ENOUGH!" as the number of new Covid-19 cases continues to rise across the US.

As far as the pandemic itself is concerned, the United States has now recorded more than 19.97m total cases of the coronavirus, claiming the lives of more than 346,579 Americans in the process.

The US has also confirmed its first case of the "new" faster spreading strain that led British prime minister Boris Johnson to effectively "cancel" Christmas in the UK and impose tougher restrictions across England on Wednesday.

Also in focus from across the pond was news that Britain had given the green light to the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca's covid vaccine.

On the macro front, the US goods trade deficit widened to $84.82bn in November, from $80.42bn in the previous month, an advance estimate from the Census Bureau showed, the largest trade gap since the comparable series began in 1955. Imports rose 2.6% to $212.0bn, led by purchases of consumer goods, while exports increased at a softer 0.8% to $127.2bn.

Elsewhere, wholesale inventories in the US edged down 0.1% month-on-month in November following an upwardly revised 1.2% rise in October, according to the Census Bureau - the first decline in wholesale inventories since July.

Still on data, economic activity in the Chicago area unexpectedly picked up in December, according to data released on Wednesday. The MNI Chicago business barometer rose to 59.5 from 58.2 in November, beating expectations for a reading of 57.0. A reading above 50.0 indicates expansion, while a reading below signals contraction.

Lastly, US pending home sales fell in November, according to data released on Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors. The NAR's monthly index came in at 125.7, down 2.6% on the month and falling for the third month in a row. Analysts were expecting the index to be unchanged. Year-over-year, contract signings rose 16.4%.