European Stocks Kickstart March with Gains, US Futures Jump

European Stocks Kick Start March with Gains, US Futures Jump

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Key Takeaways

• Global stocks jump to enter the new month
• US House of Representatives approves the $1.9tn stimulus package

European markets and US futures rally on Monday as investors aim to erase the losses from last week’s market turmoil. All major European markets are strong to the upside in the early trading hours led by the UK’s FTSE100, up nearly 2.00%. The Spanish IBEX35, the French CAC40, and the German DAX follow right after, up about 1.50% each. Treasuries stabilize while US equity futures jump as a sign of confidence that investors are again in favor of riskier assets. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped over 300 points in pre-market hours on Monday as Treasury yields retreat to lower levels. Major benchmark indexes, the Nasdaq Composite, the S&P500, and the Dow Jones, are all higher by over 1.00% ahead of the start of the US session today.

Commodities are also marching higher as brent crude oil zeroed in on $66, up nearly $2 from Friday’s close at $64.37. Gold also opened higher, up 2.50% from its close on Friday, currently trading near the $1,750 mark. Similarly, silver shot up 3.50% earlier today, peaking at $27.06.

In the US, President Joe Biden continues to put pressure on the Senate in his effort to quickly approve the $1.9tn fiscal stimulus. Early on Saturday, the bill passed the House of Representatives and now heads to the Senate. “There is no time to waste,” President Biden wrote on Twitter as he thanked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “If we act quickly and decisively, we can finally get ahead of this virus and get our economy moving”, he said. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen backed the speeding up of the process over the bill’s passing to boost the economy as soon as possible.

Vaccine Deliveries and Stimulus Packages: Fighting the Pandemic in the EU and US

Ms. Yellen also used Twitter to express her support for the spending. She said that the fiscal bill “ensures that people make it to the other side of this pandemic and are met there by a strong, growing economy.” Democrats have decided to push for the approval of the American Rescue Plan without bipartisan backing. Republicans have rejected to support the package, claiming it is too big with many of the measures inappropriate in size, such as individual checks and aid for state and local governments.

In Europe, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said the Covid-19 pandemic will not be Europe’s last pandemic. In an interview on Sunday, President von der Leyen expressed concerns over the bloc’s reaction to the coronavirus pandemic and said that the union is still having major issues with vaccine deliveries. She stated that Europe needs to work on a system that would be ready to respond quickly to any emerging medical threats. In an EU summit on Thursday, Ms. von der Leyen made remarks about the vaccine production and distribution across Europe on the back of the virus mutation. She said that Europe remains firm in its target for 300 million doses of the vaccine in the second quarter.

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