By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a roughly flat opening on Monday following the upward move seen last week.
Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves amid uncertainty about the economic impact of the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.
With traders shrugging off concerns about a potential government shutdown, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Friday. The gains on the day lifted the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs.
The major averages saw further upside going into the close, ending the session at their best levels of the day. The Dow rose 53.91 points or 0.2 percent to 26,071.72, the Nasdaq advanced 40.33 points or 0.6 percent to 7,336.38 and the S&P 500 climbed 12.27 points or 0.4 percent to 2,810.30.
For the holiday-shortened week, the Dow and the Nasdaq both surged up by 1 percent, while the S&P 500 jumped by 0.9 percent.
The strength on Wall Street came as optimism about the outlook for the economy and corporate earnings overshadowed concerns about a government shutdown at midnight.
Stocks showed a lack of direction earlier the session, with traders keeping an eye on Capitol Hill as lawmakers attempt to reach a last-minute agreement on a spending bill.
House Republicans voted Thursday evening in favor of a short-term spending bill to fund the government until February 16th.
The spending bill includes a six-year extension of the popular Children’s Health Insurance Program and also delays some Obamacare taxes.
However, the issue of protections for illegal immigrants brought to the country as children could doom the short-term spending bill in the Senate.
Democrats have demanded that any spending bill include a deal to provide protections for the illegal immigrants known as Dreamers.
After meeting with President Donald Trump on Friday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said they made “some progress” but noted they “still have a good number of disagreements.”
Schumer has expressed support for a bill funding the government for just a few days in order to keep both sides at the negotiating table.
Traders also seemed unfazed by a report from the University of Michigan showing an unexpected deterioration in consumer sentiment in the month of January.
The report said the consumer sentiment index dipped to 94.4 in January from the final December reading of 95.9. Economists had expected the index to rise to 97.0.
Tobacco stocks showed a significant move to the upside on the day, driving the Dow Jones Tobacco Index up by 2 percent. The index bounced off its lowest closing level in almost a month.
Philip Morris (PM), Universal (UVV) and British American Tobacco (BTI) turned in some of the tobacco sector’s best performances on the day.
Considerable strength also emerged among trucking stocks, as reflected by the 1.6 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones Trucking Index. With the gain, the index reached a record closing high.
Brokerage, computer hardware and oil service stocks also moved notably higher on the day, contributing to the advance by the broader markets.
