By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Purvi Agarwal
(Reuters) -U.S. stocks were on track to open higher on Monday (NASDAQ:), extending post-election gains, while investors awaited the next batch of economic data that could decide whether the equity rally can sustain itself.
Several stocks that rose following the U.S. election results continued their upward trajectory. EV maker Tesla (NASDAQ:) jumped 6.4% in premarket trading after touching $1 trillion in market value on Friday for the first time since 2022.
Futures tracking the small-cap rose 1.3%, trading at their highest level since last November, with the sector expected to be a key beneficiary of President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tax cuts and expectations of an easier regulatory environment.
Major indexes soared in the previous week as Trump retook the White House, with the benchmark notching its best week in a year and briefly breaking through the 6,000 mark on Friday.
The Dow touched 44,000 points for the first time on Friday and also had its best week in more than a year.
Crypto stocks rallied as bitcoin soared past $81,000 on Monday. Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:) jumped 13.5% and bitcoin miners MARA Holdings and Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:) gained 15.5% and 9.5%, respectively.
“This is very much a continuation of a post-election sigh of relief rally,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist, B Riley Wealth. “The second piece of the puzzle is that the Fed cuts rates again.”
The U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points as expected last week, and investors see a 68.8% chance of the same move at its December meeting, according to CME FedWatch.
Dow E-minis were up 191 points, or 0.43%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 23 points, or 0.38%, and E-minis were up 76.25 points, or 0.36%.
Stocks are on solid footing as the year-end nears, with the benchmark index already up more than 25% year-to-date as AI enthusiasm and the start of Fed rate cuts have supported an upbeat outlook.
Focus will be on consumer price inflation data, due Wednesday, as well as a raft of other key data this week for more indications on the health of the economy and outlook for interest rates.
“The Fed has told us that the risk to their outlook is balanced and that things that they focus on are full employment and stable prices, the stable prices mandate certainly would have all eyes glued to the CPI,” Hogan said.
Trump Media & Technology gained 7.7%. Other Trump-related stocks such as Rumble advanced 1.6%, while Phunware was up 6.6%.
Cigna (NYSE:) Group’s shares rose 7.3% after the health insurer said it is not pursuing a merger with rival Humana (NYSE:), whose stock fell 6.2%.
Sapiens International (NASDAQ:) plummeted about 21% after the company, which provides software solutions for the insurance industry, cut its annual revenue forecast.
