U.S. stock futures remained flat Wednesday night as traders watched Washington and looked for clues about prospects for additional tax aid.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained just 29 points, 0.1%. Futures S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 also rose marginally.
Earlier in the day, congressional leaders closed a $ 900 stimulus package that would include direct payments to individuals.
An agreement of this size would be “large enough to help bridge the economic gap on the other side for small businesses and the hardest hit industries, given that the pandemic could be about to be achieved already. during the second quarter of 2021, ”wrote Tom Essaye, founder of The Sevens Report.
However, the measure would exclude corporate liability protections and aid to state and local governments, CNBC confirmed. Disagreements over these issues have been a stumbling block in the last round of negotiations.
Wall Street came out of a mixed session in which the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose while the Dow recorded a small loss.
These moves came after the Federal Reserve pledged to continue buying bonds until the economic recovery was complete. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell also said the central bank would increase bond purchases if the recovery slows.
Gregory Faranello, head of U.S.-type trading at AmeriVet Securities, said U.S. monetary policy is likely to remain easy for a while.
“They feel that there are still disinflationary forces that need to be fought globally and they are realistic about their time period and their ability to reach their 2% inflation target,” Faranello said. “This lends itself to this topic [rates] stay lower for longer “.
On Thursday, investors will be betting on the release of weekly data on unemployment claims and the latest figures on housing in the United States. These data releases will follow a disappointing retail sales report that kept investors ’sentiment under control on Wednesday.
The Commerce Department said retail sales fell 1.1% in November. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected a 0.3% drop.
Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive information and analysis and live programming from around the world.