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* Futures: Dow down 0.06%, S&P off 0.03%, Nasdaq up 0.08%
By Devik Jain
Dec 31 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were muted in
the last trading session of a tumultuous year on Thursday, as
investors digested big market gains and hoped that more stimulus
and coronavirus vaccines will drive a strong economic recovery
in 2021.
Wall Street's main indexes surged to record highs this week
in a stunning recovery since March when the COVID-19 triggered
the steepest global recession in generations and left millions
of Americans unemployed.
Unprecedented levels of central bank and government stimulus
have helped the benchmark S&P 500 index .SPX climb almost 70%
from its March low and put it on course for a more than 15%
annual gain.
The Nasdaq .IXIC , which has benefited from a surge in the
valuation of tech mega-caps such as Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O ,
Microsoft Corp MSFT.O , Apple Inc AAPL.O , Facebook Inc FB.O
and Netflix Inc NFLX.O - is on course to record a 43% increase
in 2020, its best yearly performance since 2009.
Countries across the globe are still fighting a rapid surge
in cases, with the highly infectious COVID-19 variant originally
discovered in Britain detected in California, a day after the
first known U.S. case was documented in Colorado. However, a favorable U.S. election outcome, large-scale
vaccination campaigns and signs that a fiscal stimulus deal will
be eventually reached in Washington helped Wall Street continue
its rally.
At 07:36 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were down 19 points,
or 0.06%, S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were down 1.25 points, or
0.03%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 10.25 points, or
0.08%.
Trading volumes are expected to be light with many traders
away on New Year's Eve.
Near-term expectations of bigger stimulus checks dimmed
after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked a quick
vote to back President Donald Trump's call to increase COVID-19
relief checks to $2,000 from $600.
All eyes will be on two U.S. Senate races in Georgia next
week that will determine control of the chamber and influence
Democratic President-elect Joe Biden's ability to enact his
agenda. The U.S. Labor Department's weekly unemployment report is
due at 08:30 a.m. ET, which is expected to show a rise in
jobless claims, strengthening views of a slowing economic
recovery.