(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday, adding to post-election gains, as investors looked ahead to the next set of economic data that could decide whether the stock rally can sustain itself.
Stocks that rose after the US election results continued to rise. EV maker Tesla rose 7.3% in premarket trading after reaching $1 trillion in market value on Friday for the first time since 2022.
Futures tracking the small-cap Russell 2000 rose 1.3% and were still at their highest levels since last November, with the sector expected to be a major beneficiary of President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tax cuts and expectations of a simpler regulatory environment.
Major indexes soared last week as Trump retook the White House, with the benchmark S&P 500 posting its best week in a year and briefly breaching the 6,000 mark on Friday.
The Dow Jones reached 44,000 points for the first time on Friday and also experienced its best week in more than a year.
Crypto stocks rose as Bitcoin rose above $81,000 on Monday. Coinbase Global rose 16.8% and bitcoin miners Mara Holdings and Riot Platforms gained 19% and 13.7% respectively.
At 5:28 a.m. ET, the Dow E-minis were up 142 points, or 0.32%, the S&P 500 E-minis were up 16.75 points, or 0.28%, and the Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 54.5 points, or 0.26%.
Stocks are on solid footing as the end of the year approaches, with the benchmark index already up 25% this year, as enthusiasm for AI and the start of rate cuts by the Fed have supported the bullish outlook.
The focus will be on consumer price inflation data, due on Wednesday, as well as a range of other key data this week for further indications of the health of the economy and the outlook for interest rates.
“The United States’ actual and projected economic growth is the focus of the stock market,” said analysts at SEB Research.
“Trump, who is expected to continually evaluate his political actions in light of the way the US stock markets are performing, has already received very clear and generally positive endorsement from investors for a… formulated, growth-oriented economic agenda for the United States.”
The Federal Reserve cut rates by 25 basis points as expected last week, and according to CME FedWatch, investors see a 68.5% chance of a similar move at the December meeting.
(Reporting by Lisa Pauline Mattackal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
