U.S. stock futures rose slightly Wednesday as lawmakers appeared to make progress on a fiscal stimulus.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gained 69 points, or 0.2%, at 30,183.
Futures for the S&P 500 advanced 9.25 points, or 0.3%, at 3,696.25.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite jumped 21.75 points, or 0.2%, to 12,617.75.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy met Tuesday to strike a bipartisan aid deal. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin called into the talks.
Schumer said the leaders are “making progress, and hopefully we can come to an agreement soon.
The deadline on stimulus looms amid some of the darkest days of the pandemic. The U.S. is recording at least 215,400 new COVID-19 cases and at least 2,300 virus-related deaths each day, based on a seven-day average using Johns Hopkins University data.
The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine rollout continued across the U.S. Tuesday.
The Federal Reserve will release its statement with projections on the stance of monetary policy on Wednesday afternoon. While the Fed’s long term view is expected to be improved due to the vaccine, the central bank is expected to sound very dovish at the end of its meeting.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 regained 0.3% Wednesday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index hiked 1%.
Oil prices eked up four cents to $47.66 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices brightened $7.10 at $1,862.40 U.S.