Stocks Move Closer To All-Time Highs

Stocks Set To Gain Ground At The Start Of The Week

S&P 500 futures are gaining ground in premarket trading as traders believe that the recent pullback is over and are ready to push stocks to all-time high levels.

Today, U.S. President Joe Biden will sign the $1 trillion infrastructure bill. The ceremony may provide additional support to infrastructure stocks like Caterpillar or Deere, which are already moving higher in premarket trading.

It’s a rather quiet day on the economic front, but traders have a chance to take a look at NY Empire State Manufacturing Index report for November. The report indicated that NY Empire State Manufacturing Index increased from 19.8 in October to 30.9 in November compared to analyst consensus of 21.2.

WTI Oil Tests Support At $80 As Coronavirus Fears Grow

WTI oil continues its attempts to settle below the psychologically important support level at $80 as traders are worried about rising coronavirus cases in Europe.

Austria has recently decided to impose a lockdown for unvaccinated, and other European countries look ready to introduce additional virus containment measures which may have a negative impact on oil demand.

It should be noted that the recent pullback in the oil market did not put too much pressure on oil-related stocks, but it remains to be seen whether demand for energy stocks will stay strong in case WTI oil manages to settle below the important $80 level.

Gold Stays Strong As Traders Remain Focused On Inflation

Gold continues its attempts to get to the test of the $1875 level as traders remain focused on rising inflation in U.S.

The recent strength of the U.S. dollar had no impact on the gold market while rising Treasury yields did not put any pressure on precious metals.

Gold mining stocks gained strong upside momentum in recent trading sessions and look ready to continue their upside move as traders stay bullish on gold.

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