Here are five things you should know for Monday, December 28:
1. – Stock futures rise as Trump signs the stimulus bill
Stock futures rose on Monday after President Donald Trump signed a combined $ 2.3 trillion coronavirus relief and government funding package, backing off bigger demands, $ 2,000 aid checks and avoiding a government shutdown.
Contracts linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 153 points, S&P 500 futures rose 26 points and Nasdaq futures rose 107 points.
Trump has postponed signing the bill, indicating he will block it if the stimulus checks are not raised to $ 2,000 from the $ 600 Congress approved last week, and if spending is not cut.
But by delaying the signing, as many as 14 million Americans lost one week of extended unemployment benefits.
The huge bill includes $ 900 billion in pandemic relief and $ 1.4 trillion in government spending to fund federal agencies through the end of the fiscal year next September.
Suresh Tantia, a strategic analyst at Credit Suisse, told Bloomberg that the stimulus “can be supportive of the market, and supportive of the US economy.” “Next year, all the building blocks are there for the markets to continue this upward trend.”
The S&P 500 is up nearly 15% in 2020. And on Thursday, the last trading session before Christmas, The S&P 500 rose 0.36%The Dow rose 0.23% and the Nasdaq 0.26%.
2. – Coronavirus – the most recent
The number of confirmed global deaths from Covid-19, the disease caused by the Coronavirus, has risen to nearly 1.77 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. Confirmed cases of the virus worldwide have risen to 80.83 million.
The death toll in the United States reached 333,129, the largest in the world. The number of infected people in the United States reached 19,136,158.
There were 226,274 new coronavirus cases in the United States as of Sunday and 1,663 deaths, according to data from the university.
The number of hospital admissions in California rose to a record high after the state added 50,141 cases, one of the highest levels since it set a record two weeks ago, Bloomberg reported. The total death toll in California has risen to 24,220.
AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine (AZN) – Get a report According to Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the matter, the University of Oxford may be approved by the United Kingdom as early as this week.
The approval will come about three weeks after the UK became the first Western country to start immunizing its citizens with the Covid-19 vaccine, a vaccine made by Pfizer PFE and BioNTech BNTX.
AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said on Sunday that researchers believe the shot from the British pharma company will be effective against a new type of virus that has pushed infection rates higher in Britain.
3.- China orders Ant Group to overhaul its business
Alibaba shares listed in the United States (Baba) – Get a report It fell more than 1% in pre-market trading on Monday after Chinese regulators ordered Ant Group to overhaul its lending and other consumer financing operations.
Alibaba has a 33% stake in Ant Group, the world’s largest financial technology company.
The announcement from the People’s Bank of China came just days after regulators launched an antitrust investigation into Alibaba, the e-commerce giant. It also followed the Shanghai Stock Exchange last month’s suspension of the pending $ 37 billion listing of Ant Group, which would have been the largest IPO in the world.
In a statement on Sunday, regulators said they have ordered Ant Group to draft a correction plan and implement a schedule to overhaul its businesses, including credit, insurance and wealth management services.
Alibaba’s US Depository Receipts fell 1.24% in pre-market trading to $ 219.25. ADRs tumbled more than 13% on Thursday after news of the antitrust investigation.
4.- Bitcoin shattered by $ 28,000
Bitcoin rose to a record high above $ 28,000 early Sunday, and has been pushed higher in recent days as institutional investors and speculators jumped aboard the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin crossed $ 25,000 Friday night, then $ 26,000 and $ 27,000 over the weekend, according to CoinDesk. On final examination, Bitcoin was trading at $ 26,989.
Bloomberg noted that the huge bitcoin returns through October, November and December are so far the longest extended period since mid-2019.
Bitcoin crossed $ 20,000 for the first time On December 16th.
Many experts believe that more winnings await Bitcoin – some expect their value to exceed $ 30,000. But if investors and speculators lose confidence in the digital currency, it could easily drop as it did in February and March, and from December 2017 to December 2018.
5. – The economic calendar for this week
United State Economic calendar Monday is light but data on home sales, jobless claims and trade will be released later in the week.
Very few companies will release earnings reports this week. Those that will include Sina (Sina) – Get a reportWeibo (WB) – Get a report And CSP Inc. (CSPI) – Get a report.
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