U.S. stock index futures rose, as most Asian equities climbed, amid bullish sentiment a day before President-elect Joe Biden\u2019s inauguration.<\/p>\n
March contracts on the S&P 500 advanced 0.7% at 6:38 a.m. in London. Futures added 0.5% on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and 0.9% for the Nasdaq 100 Index. An Asia-Pacific share gauge gained the most in more than a week. <\/p>\n
The spike in U.S. futures is being driven by risk-on sentiment in the run-up to<\/span> the inauguration of Biden as president, said Alan Richardson, portfolio manager at Samsung Asset Management (HK) Ltd.<\/p>\n Investors are also awaiting comments from Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen on stimulus and the dollar. The Senate Finance Committee\u2019s hearing Tuesday is likely to feature topics from foreign-exchange policy to taxes, but it will also serve as the first congressional forum where lawmakers will vet Biden\u2019s $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief plan.<\/p>\n U.S. futures and Asian stocks rising are \u201ca byproduct of the bullish sentiment seen in the market,\u201d said Jingyi Pan, a market strategist at IG Asia Pte.<\/p>\n While optimism about the U.S. aid package had helped spur the so-called reflation trade, the plan is far from a done deal. Biden\u2019s proposal could be watered down under congressional opposition, and there\u2019s the possibility that some taxes could rise.<\/p>\n U.S. markets were shut Monday for the Martin Luther King holiday. On Jan. 15, U.S. stocks fell by the most in more than a week after Wells Fargo & Co. dragged down the banking sector in the wake of disappointing fourth-quarter results.<\/p>\n