U.S. stock moved higher in overnight trading on Sunday as investors readied for the First Trading Day of May. Dow futures rose about 125 points. S&P 500 futures gained 0.45% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.33%Monday marks the First Trading Day of May. Friday’s weakness in equities, the S&P 500 notched its third straight month of gains in April, adding more than 5% to the index as investors bet on a big economic and profit recovery from the pandemic.
The S&P 500 is now up 11% for the year. The benchmark closed at record levels on Thursday on the heels of blowout earnings results from Apple and Facebook. The Dow rose about 2.7% last month, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 5.4% in April.
Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Cresset CapitalSaid that the investors are gearing up for a busy earnings week capped off with a widely watched jobs report. Given the optimistic economic and earnings news, the path of least resistance appears higher. TheInvestors will also be monitoring the next batch of corporate earnings.Shares were mostly lower in Asia on the thin First Trading Day, with many markets including those in Tokyo and Shanghai closed for holidays. The declines follow a retreat Friday on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 gave up 0.7% but still closed out its best month so far this year.
Markets have mostly climbed in recent weeks as investors remain optimistic that the pandemic is slowly and steadily coming to a close, at least in the United States. The S&P 500 rose 5.2% in April, its best monthly gain since November 2020, when President Joe Biden was elected. In much of Asia and many other countries, caseloads have surged and vaccination levels remain low.
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