Biden’s Stimulus Plan Fails To Push Stocks Higher

Traders Take Some Profits Off The Table At The Start Of The Earnings Season

S&P 500 futures are moving lower in premarket trading as traders take some profits off the table after Biden’s stimulus plan announcement.

Yesterday, U.S. President-elect Joe Biden unveiled a new stimulus plan worth $1.9 trillion which included $1,400 stimulus checks. Early reports suggested that the plan would be worth $1.5 trillion – $2 trillion so Biden’s proposal was in line with traders’ expectations.

Meanwhile, Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated that it was not the time to talk about changing the pace of monthly bond purchasing, refuting rumors about potential cuts to the current asset purchase program.

While the additional stimulus package and the continued bond purchases should be supportive for stocks in the longer run, traders have decided to take some chips off the table at the beginning of the earnings season.

Big Banks Report Earnings

Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo have provided their quarterly reports today ahead of the market open, marking the beginning of the earnings season.

All three banks easily beat analyst estimates on earnings as they released some of the reserves they built to deal with the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. Stimulus programs provided support to banks’ customers which allowed banks to enjoy stronger results.

Interestingly, the market is not satisfied with the reports, and banks’ stocks are losing ground in premarket trading. Financials enjoyed a very strong rally in recent months so traders may be using better-than-expected reports as an opportunity to take profits.

Retail Sales Declined By 0.7% In December

The U.S. has just reported that Retail Sales decreased by 0.7% month-over-month in December while analysts believed that they would remain unchanged compared to November levels. On a year-over-year basis, Retail Sales increased by 2.9%.

The slowdown in Retail Sales is due to the negative impact of the second wave of the virus. However, Retail Sales may soon get a boost when additional stimulus checks are delivered.

Later today, the U.S. will provide Industrial Production and Manufacturing Production reports for December. Industrial Production is expected to grow by 0.5% month-over-month while Manufacturing Production is also projected to increase by 0.5%.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.