Investing.com-- U.S. stock index futures rose slightly on Monday evening as investors digested a recent downgrade to the U.S. credit rating by Moody’s, with focus turning to an upcoming vote on a sweeping tax bill backed by President Donald Trump.
Futures rose after a mildly positive close on Wall Street, as the Moody’s downgrade and concerns over U.S. fiscal health appeared to have had a limited impact on sentiment, which remained heady after a trade tariff deescalation with China last week.
China said recent U.S. export restrictions on chip exports to the country had undermined the trade truce. But there did not appear to be any signs of re-escalation in the trade war.
S&P 500 Futures rose 0.1% to 5,990.0 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.1% to 21,553.0 points by 19:41 ET (23:41 GMT). Dow Jones Futures rose 0.2% to 42,947.0 points.
Wall St rises past Moody’s downgrade
Wall Street logged a mildly positive session, with the S&P 500 clocking a sixth straight session of gains despite starting the day on a negative note.
U.S. stock indexes had initially fallen after the Moody’s downgrade, with the ratings agency bringing up concerns over high government debt levels.
But they recovered from initial losses, amid bets that a recent sell-off in Wall Street was also overdone.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 5,963.59 points on Monday, while the NASDAQ Composite was flat at 19,215.46 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% to 42,791.94 points.
Wall Street had risen steadily through last week on optimism over a U.S.-China trade tariff deescalation, which appeared to be holding. Focus was also on a more permanent trade truce with China, after Beijing said that more U.S. tech export controls had undermined last week’s trade truce.
Technology stocks were a major drag on Wall Street on Monday, pulling back after strong gains in the past week. Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA ) moved little despite CEO Jensen Huang unveiling a slew of new artificial intelligence technologies.
Tax bill in focus after House committee approval
A special committee in the House of Representatives approved a sweeping tax cut bill on Sunday, potentially setting it up for a vote this week.
The bill is backed by Trump and proposes a host of income tax cuts, as well as more spending on defense and immigration.
But critics of the bill have argued that it could increase the U.S. fiscal deficit and undermine federal revenue, at a time when the deficit is already at record highs.
The bill has been opposed by moderates and less hardline Republicans.