Inventory futures barely modified as Congress prepares to vote on a stimulus settlement

U.S. stock futures were unchanged on Monday night after a volatile day on Wall Street with the Dow Jones Industrial Average wiping out a 400-point deficit.

Futures linked to the Dow and S&P 500 fell 0.2% and 0.1% respectively, while those for the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.1%.

The step forward came as the leaders of Congress in Washington steered towards the passage of a $ 900 billion package of economic aid. An agreement was reached on Sunday evening, but the text of the final contract was not released until Monday afternoon. A vote is expected on Monday evening.

During Monday’s regular market hours, stocks opened significantly lower on concerns over a new variant of Covid-19 in the UK. Many European countries have introduced travel restrictions on visitors from the UK, and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has urged the United States to take similar steps.

However, many experts, including those from the World Health Organization, said Monday that Pfizer and Moderna’s coronavirus vaccines would likely be effective against the new variant and that Covid mutated more slowly than seasonal flu.

The Dow finished the race up 37 points, thanks in part to strong performance in bank stocks. The S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, and stocks linked to the travel industry have left their session lows well behind.

Jonathan Golub, chief US equity strategist at Credit Suisse, told Closing Bell that he expected the economy and markets to continue to cool in the coming months before consumer spending rose in mid-2021.

“I don’t think there is a smooth, simple, straightforward story,” said Golub. “I think for the next three or four months the reopening process is going to be sloppy.”

Monday was also the first day of trading that Tesla was a member of the S&P 500. The electric vehicle population lost 6.5%. Part of that loss came after Reuters reported that Apple was targeting 2024 as the date for the launch of its own passenger car.

Turning to economic data, investors will get new information on consumer confidence and home sales on Tuesday.

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