The major US stock indexes rose in extended trading Monday evening after finishing strong last week. Dow futures rose 250 points while S&P 500 contracts added 27 points or 0.7% and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 95 points, also a gain of 0.7%. Tom Lee, Fundstrat founder said, “The VIX’s drop below 20 means investors have grown more comfortable in the near term. Fear is receding from the market. And receding fear is followed by systematic and quant funds adding leverage- in other words, this is a set-up to see a rally”.
USA Stock Indexes Rose And Loot To Add To Record Levels
In the United States stock market, the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq Composite are the three most broadly followed indexes by both the media and investors. The US market has a wide range of methodologies and categorizations that can serve a broad range of purposes. The reports from the stock market show the direction of the top three indexes regularly throughout the day with key new items serving as contributors and detractors.
As per the post of the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average posted two little changed days, while the S&P 500 swung within 0.2% for three days in a row. The S&P 500 finished the week with a gain of 1.2%, while the Dow added 1%. Also, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.7% and all three closed the market on Friday at record levels.
The strategist at Evercore ISI said, “Covid is far from defeated, but the path toward economic normalization is clearer as more vaccines that reduce hospitalizations and eliminate fatalities are approved. Treasury Secretary Yellen’s forceful arguments for additional stimulus followed by Fed Chair Powell describing maximum employment as our national goal helped lift bond yields, inflation exp[ectations, and oil prices last week”.
The S&P ranked in ten record closes in 2021
In February, the Dow has gained 4.9%, S&P 500 and the Nasdaq have rallied 5.9% and 7.8% respectively. In 2021, S&P 500 has ranked in ten record closes. These rising interest rates and an uncertain policy outlook recommend investors to stick to cyclical stocks that could see the most upside as the US economy recovers.
The weather across several regions of the US is freezing and this sparked another rally in energy futures on Monday and put West Texas Intermediate crude contracts above $60 barrel for the first time since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic prevailed. Most of the index managers use indexes as benchmarks for performance and they also form the basis for passive index investing often done primarily through exchange-traded finds that track indexes specifically.
