By Peter Nurse
Investing.com - U.S. stocks are set to open largely higher Monday, with investors taking comfort from President Donald Trump's moves to boost the economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
At 7:05 AM ET (1105 GMT), US 500 Futures traded 3 points, or 0.1%, higher, the Dow Futures contract rose 80 points, or 0.3%, while Nasdaq 100 Futures fell 7 points, or 0.1%, taking a break after a period of historic gains.
Over the weekend, President Trump signed a series of executive orders aimed at bolstering the economy, including an extension of expanded jobless benefits at a lower rate - $400 a week, down from $600. Trump's order also envisages that states pay one fourth of that bill.
This move was immediately criticized as unconstitutional by House Democrats, while Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said they would be held responsible for any hold up in the distribution of benefits if the order is challenged legally.
“The main focus for markets is whether the U.S. can agree on the next round of fiscal stimulus,” said Benjamin Jones, a senior multi-asset strategist at State Street (NYSE:STT) Bank, reported by Bloomberg. “News over the weekend boosts the chances that another round is agreed relatively quickly.”
The need for more stimulus was illustrated Friday, as although the headline jobless number showed a better-than-expected gain in July, there are increasing signs of long-term damage to the workforce.
Payrolls remain 13 million below pre-pandemic levels and the number of people out of work for 15 weeks or longer more than doubled from the prior month, to 8 million.
This comes as the number of coronavirus cases in the United States topped 5 million people over the weekend, taking just six weeks to double, with the country recording more than 160,000 deaths, nearly a quarter of the world's total. The U.S. accounts for less than 5% of global population.
Tensions between the west and China also ratcheted up a notch Monday, after China arrested Jimmy Lai, one of Hong Kong’s richest and best-known publishers and a British national, on suspicion of collusion with foreign agents.
The economic data slate is largely empty Monday, although it does become more crowded as the week progresses, while earnings season is entering its final stretch.
There are numbers expected from the likes of Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD), Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR), Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK), Worldpay Inc (NYSE:WP), Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) and Royal Caribbean (NYSE:RCL) Cruises.
Oil prices pushed higher Monday, helped by a bullish picture of demand from state-controlled Saudi Aramco (SE:2222), the largest oil producer in the world.
The company’s Chief Executive Amin Nasser said on Sunday that oil consumption in Asia, Aramco’s largest regional market, has almost returned to pre-coronavirus levels, and he sees oil demand increasing as economies gradually open up after the easing of coronavirus lockdowns.
U.S. crude futures traded 1.6% higher at $41.89 a barrel, while the international benchmark Brent contract rose 0.9% to $44.80.
Elsewhere, gold futures rose 0.6% to $2,030.15/oz, recovering a touch after Friday’s sharp selloff on the back of the better-than-expected July jobs report. The contract hit an all-time high of $2,072.5 last week. EUR/USD traded 0.3% lower at 1.1747.