S&P 500 hits fresh highs as Trump administration puts forward $916b stimulus plan

S&P 500 futures are trading moderately higher in pre-market Wednesday to visit record highs as the Republicans and Democrats continue talks on the fresh coronavirus help package. 

Fundamental analysis: Democrats say new package “unacceptable”

A $916 billion coronavirus stimulus bill has been put forward yesterday by the Republicans. It comes after the Democrats rejected Senate majority leader Mitch McConnel’s plan. Steven Mnuchin, Treasury Secretary, noted that the bill includes financial support for state and local governments, which is a Democratic priority. 

On the other hand, some parts of the package are targeting protections for businesses, which is something that Republican lawmakers insisted on. 

“This proposal includes money for state and local governments and robust liability protections for businesses, schools and universities,” Mnuchin said. “As part of this proposal, we will fund it using $140 Billion in unused funds from the Paycheck Protection program and $429 Billion in Treasury funds.”

However, the House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer noted the progress that McConnell decided to sign off on the $916 billion proposal, but still, two sides should intensify talks to reach a successful conclusion to this solution. 

“The President’s proposal starts by cutting the unemployment insurance proposal being discussed by bipartisan Members of the House and Senate from $180 billion to $40 billion. That is unacceptable,” said Pelosi and Schumer.

In the meantime, the number of U.S. residents infected with Covid-19 exceeded 15 million people with nearly 285,000 deaths reported so far. 

Technical analysis: Fresh all-time highs

S&P 500 closed 0.28% higher yesterday to reach a fresh all-time high above the 3700 mark. In the meantime, S&P 500 futures are trading a further 0.15% higher on the improved risk sentiment amid the Covid-19 vaccine rollout. 

S&P 500 daily chart (TradingView)

The buyers are now approaching the key 2020 target of 3720, which represents the 127.2% Fibonacci extension of the pandemic-fueled correction that started in March. 

Summary

The Trump’ administration has signed off on a new $916 billion COVID-19 aid package as talks with the Democrats continue.

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