Stock market news live updates: Stock futures rise as equities look to kick off new year higher

(YAHOO Finance)- Stock futures rose Monday morning in the first session of 2021, with the three major indices poised to extend December’s momentum.

Contracts on the Dow added more than 100 points, or 0.5%, while futures on the S&P 500 also increased by about 0.4%, with about two hours to go until the opening bell. The S&P 500 closed out December with a 3.7% one-month gain and 16% gain for 2020, capping off an extraordinary year in markets despite the backdrop of the pandemic. Bitcoin prices (BTC-USD) also extended their recent rally over the weekend, breaking above $34,000 to set a new all-time high before paring some gains.

Markets largely shrugged off the new political noise in Washington, after President Donald Trump urged Georgia’s secretary of state to overturn his defeat to President-elect Joe Biden in the state, based on a phone recording first reported by the Washington Post. The demand came just before Georgia’s Senate runoff elections on Tuesday, which are set to determine control of the chamber given that Republicans currently maintain an only narrow majority.

Traders are heading into the new year with a vaccine roll-out under way and more stimulus recently passed, offering hopes of a stronger recovery once inoculations allows the restrictions that have swept the country for months to ease. Still, hurdles exist to the outlook, and one of the biggest deciding factor in economic growth and rebound in profitability for many corporations will be the success of vaccine distribution as COVID-19 cases continue to spike, many strategists have said.

“The big question for the global economy over the year ahead will be how quickly populations are vaccinated, particularly among vulnerable groups like the elderly and those with underlying health conditions who make up the majority of hospitalizations,” Deutsche Bank economists including Henry Allen wrote in a note. “If the most affected groups can be vaccinated quickly, that could pave the way for a gradual easing of restrictions and a return to something closer to normality.”

“Markets are likely to be closely watching any issues with COVID-19 or the vaccine rollout, not least given the new variants that have been found in the UK and South Africa which spread more rapidly and have been found in increasing numbers of countries,” they added.

As of the weekend, the first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine had been given to more than 4 million people in the U.S., comprising over 1% of the nation’s population. However, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said President-elect Joe Biden’s goal of ramping up distribution to vaccinate 100 million people in his first 100 days was a “realistic goal,” according to an interview with ABC on Sunday.