Futures extend gains as post-election rally continues

By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Purvi Agarwal

(Reuters) -U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday (NASDAQ:MNDY ), extending post-election gains, while investors awaited the next batch of economic data that could decide whether the equity rally can sustain itself.

Several stocks that rose following the U.S. election results continued their upward trajectory. EV maker Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA ) surged 6.5% in premarket trading after touching $1 trillion in market value on Friday for the first time since 2022.

Futures tracking the small-cap Russell 2000 rose 1.3%, and were still at their highest level since last November, with the sector expected to be a key beneficiary of President-elect Donald Trump's proposed tax cuts and expectations of an easier regulatory environment.

Major indexes soared in the previous week as Trump retook the White House, with the benchmark S&P 500 notching its best week in a year and briefly breaking through the 6,000 mark on Friday.

The Dow touched 44,000 points for the first time on Friday and also had its best week in more than a year.

Crypto stocks rallied as bitcoin soared past $81,000 on Monday. Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN ) jumped 16.3% and bitcoin miners Mara Holdings and Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT ) gained 19.4% and 13.4%, respectively.

"It's not just the incoming occupant of the White House which has helped bitcoin, there have also been downticket victories for candidates who have a positive stance on the asset class," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

Dow E-minis were up 185 points, or 0.42%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 17.75 points, or 0.29%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 56 points, or 0.26%.

Stocks are on solid footing as the year-end nears, with the benchmark index already up 25% year-to-date as AI enthusiasm and the start of Fed rate cuts have supported an upbeat outlook.

Focus will be on consumer price inflation data, due Wednesday, as well as a raft of other key data this week for more indications on the health of the economy and outlook for interest rates.

"The actual, and expected, economic growth of the United States is the focus of the stock market," SEB Research analysts said.

"Trump, who is expected to continuously evaluate his political actions against how the U.S. stock markets are doing, has already received a very clear and generally positive confirmation from investors for a ... formulated growth-focused economic agenda for the United States."

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points as expected last week, and investors see a 68.5% chance of the same move at its December meeting, according to CME FedWatch.

Trump Media & Technology gained 7.7%. Other Trump-related stocks such as Rumble advanced 3.1%, while Phunware was up 5.5%.



Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO ) inched 1.9% higher after J.P.Morgan upgraded the network equipment maker's shares to "overweight" from "neutral".

Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS ) plummeted 22.2% after the company, which provides software solutions for the insurance industry, cut its annual revenue forecast.

Source: Investing.com