The S&P 500 was 0.3% higher in early trading after President Donald Trump acknowledged for the first time on camera that he'll be leaving the White House later this month. After Democrats take control of the presidency, Senate and House, investors are anticipating Washington will try to deliver even more stimulus for the struggling economy. That's layering on top of expectations already built up for the economy to get healthier as coronavirus vaccines roll out in 2021.
It was the first month of job losses for the economy since April, and it was much a worse reading than the modest growth that economists were expecting to see. The accelerating pandemic around the world is adding more pressure to economies that are already struggling. Smaller stocks tend to rise and fall more than their bigger rivals with expectations for the economy's strength. And many investors are expecting Washington to soon try to send bigger cash payments to most Americans, spend more on infrastructure and provide other support for the struggling economy.