Futures edge higher
U.S. stocks were poised to open positive on Thursday as congressional leaders raced to avoid a government shutdown on Friday and agree on a roughly $900 billion stimulus bill to provide emergency relief to Americans and businesses battered by the coronavirus pandemic.
According to multiple reports, including The Washington Post and Politico, the package is expected to provide a second stimulus check to millions of individuals as well as additional unemployment benefits, rental aid and food assistance.
By 6:05 a.m. ET, futures tied to the blue-chip were indicated 135.5 points, or 0.45% to 30,209.5. Those for the S&P 500 gained 20.63 points, or 0.56% to 3,714.38 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures added 62.25 points, or 0.49% to 12,733.
Fed leaves rates unchanged at near zero, pledges to keep buying bonds
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged at near zero at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday.
The Fed also published projections showing that a majority of its officials expect the rates to stay there through 2023.
In a statement released after the meeting, the U.S. central bank promised to continue buying at least $120 billion worth of U.S. treasuries and mortgage-backed securities per month “until substantial further progress has been made” towards hitting its inflation and employment goals.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters after the meeting that while recent news on coronavirus vaccines is encouraging, the rise in cases is worrying and warned that “the next few months are likely to be very challenging.”
Weekly jobless claims data on watch
On the data front, traders are awaiting weekly jobless claims data, due to be released by the U.S. Labor Department at 8:30 a.m. ET. Expectations are for initial jobless benefits to drop 800,000 in the week ended Dec. 11.
Last week’s data showed jobless claims increasing to a three-month high of 853,000 because of continued disruptions caused by the pandemic.
Economists expect continuing claims to fall to 5.598 million in the week ended Dec. 4 from 5.757 million in the prior week.
Bitcoin shoots past $23,000 for the first time
Bitcoin rose past the $23,000 mark for the first time early Thursday, just a day after topping the $20,000 mark amid growing interest from larger investors.
The popular cryptocurrency surged to an all-time high of $23,770 early Thursday, taking its gains this year past 220%, helped by demand from larger Wall Street names attracted to its perceived inflation-hedging qualities and potential for quick gains.
Bitcoin later lost some of the gains, trading at about $22,600 as of 6 a.m. ET. The virtual currency was invented in 2008 by an unknown individual or group of individuals using the name Satoshi Nakamoto.
