Stocks Move Higher As Traders Focus On Biden’s Stimulus Plan

President-Elect Joe Biden Will Present His Stimulus Plan On Thursday

S&P 500 futures are gaining ground in premarket trading as traders wait for details of the new stimulus plan which is expected to be presented today.

Recent reports suggested that Joe Biden would present a stimulus plan worth $1.5 trillion – $2 trillion which would include $1,400 stimulus checks. Additional stimulus is bullish for stocks. If markets are encouraged by the new stimulus package, stocks will move to new highs.

Interestingly, expectations of more stimulus have not put any pressure on the U.S. dollar which continues to rebound against a broad basket of currencies. The stronger dollar may serve as an additional bearish catalyst for gold and silver which are already suffering from decreasing demand for safe-haven assets.

U.S. President Donald Trump Is Impeached For A Second Time But Markets Ignore It

Yesterday, U.S. House of Representatives impeached Donald Trump for a second time. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stated that the Senate would not have an opportunity to vote on the issue before Trump leaves office.

Markets have remained very calm despite recent historic developments. Most likely, traders will focus on whether impeachment fight will interfere with the  vote on the new stimulus package.

President-elect Joe Biden has already stated that he expected that the impeachment process would not hurt urgent priorities. If the impeachment drama does not delay the new stimulus, markets will likely continue to ignore all developments on this front regardless of the ultimate outcome of the story.

Initial Jobless Claims Jump To 965,000

The U.S. has just provided Initial Jobless Claims and Continuing Jobless Claims reports. The Initial Jobless Claims report indicated that 965,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits in a week compared to analyst consensus of 795,000.

Meanwhile, Continuing Jobless Claims increased from 5.07 million to 5.27 million compared to analyst consensus of 5.06 million.

The Initial Jobless Claims report was much worse than expected and highlighted the need for additional stimulus.

It remains to be seen whether the disappointing Initial Jobless Claims report will put any pressure on stocks as traders will likely remain focused on Biden’s stimulus plan.

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