US open: Stocks higher after Trump signs off on stimulus bill
Wall Street stocks opened higher on Monday after Donald Trump finally signed off on Congress' Covid-19 stimulus relief package.
As of 1600 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.83% at 30,451.66, while the S&P 500 was 0.86% firmer at 3,735.07 and the Nasdaq Composite started out the session 0.73% stronger at 12,897.79.
The Dow opened 251.79 points higher on Monday, extending gains recorded on Thursday's Holiday shortened-session.
Trump unexpectedly signed the $900.0bn economic relief bill into law, averting a shutdown of the government after having previously indicating he would veto the legislation amid demands for direct $2,000 payments to Americans.
"I am signing this bill to restore unemployment benefits, stop evictions, provide rental assistance, add money for PPP, return our airline workers back to work, add substantially more money for vaccine distribution, and much more," Trump said.
Treasurys yields were also higher, with the benchmark 10-year note yield climbing to 0.95%.
Elsewhere, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' Dr Anthony Fauci warned over the weekend that the US may see a surge in new Covid-19 cases as a result of Christmas and New Year celebrations.
The US has now recorded more than 19.57m total cases of Covid-19, claiming the lives of 341,138 Americans along the way.
On the macro front, the Dallas Fed's manufacturing index declined from 12 to 9.7 in December.