U.S. stock index futures climbed on Tuesday as investors anticipated U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen to make the case for a big fiscal relief package later in the day, while the next round of U.S. bank earnings were set to trickle in and offer some insight on the health of the economy.
Bank of America gained 0.5per cent in pre-market trading even after it reported a drop in fourth-quarter profit. Goldman Sachs added 0.9per cent ahead of its results.JPMorgan, Citigroup Inc and Wells Fargo & Co posted better-than-expected earnings on Friday, but their shares dropped following a surge in the run-up to their earnings.
Earnings for S&P 500 companies are expected to decline 7.8per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020 from a year ago, but are expected to rebound in 2021, with a gain of 16.7per cent forecast for the first quarter, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. Meanwhile, world stocks got a lift earlier in the day by data showing China's economy was one of the few to grow over 2020, and actually picked up speed as the year closed.