US pre-open: Futures in the green ahead of vaccine rollout
Wall Street futures had stocks opening higher ahead of the bell on Monday as market participants were optimistic about both the rollout of a Covid-19 vaccine and some apparent progression in stimulus talks.
As of 1230, Dow Jones futures were up 0.85%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.77% and 0.61% firmer, respectively.
The Dow closed 47.11 points higher on Friday after the Food and Drug Administration green-lit Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine for use in the USA.
Following the FDA's emergency authorisation of the coronavirus vaccine, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also signed off on the drug, allowing inoculations to officially begin for Americans over the age of 16.
Also in focus, a bipartisan stimulus plan was rumoured to potentially be introduced as soon as Monday, according to Reuters, with $908.0bn to be split into a $748.0bn measure with money for jobless and small business and a further $160.0bn for controversial measures - including liability protections and state aid.
Both the rumoured aid package and the vaccine come as more than 2,300 Covid-19 related deaths were reported on Saturday, following over 3,300 deaths Friday, while new cases topped 219,000 on Saturday.
Markets.com's Neil Wilson said: "Vaccines will continue to support risk sentiment and provide succour to the stock market as it enables investors to look past the current situation to a more normal 2021.
"For the time being Main Street needs help and as far as stimulus goes, getting a deal through Congress is proving as difficult as Brexit. The $908.0bn bipartisan package is being put forward today, but it’s uncertain whether it will pass."
On the macro front, November's consumer inflation expectations report will be published at 1600 GMT.
No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Monday.