Futures build on Trump-fueled rally; Tesla jumps

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday, adding to post-election gains, while investors looked ahead to the next batch of economic data that could decide whether the equity rally can sustain itself.

Stocks that rose following the U.S. election results continued to gain. EV maker Tesla surged 7.3% in premarket trading after touching $1 trillion in market value on Friday for the first time since 2022.

Futures tracking the small-cap Russell 2000 rose 1.3%, and were still at their highest 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 S&P 500 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 jumped 16.8% and bitcoin miners Mara Holdings and Riot Platforms gained 19% and 13.7%, respectively.

At 5:28 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 142 points, or 0.32%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 16.75 points, or 0.28%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 54.5 points, or 0.26%.

Stocks are on solid footing as the year-end nears, with the benchmark index already up 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 actual, and expected, economic growth of the United States is the focus of the stock market,” SEB Research analysts said.

“Trump, who is expected to continuously evaluate his political actions against how the U.S. stock markets are doing, has already received a very clear and generally positive confirmation from investors for a … formulated growth-focused economic agenda for the United States.”

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points as expected last week, and investors see a 68.5% chance of the same move at its December meeting, according to CME FedWatch.

(Reporting by Lisa Pauline Mattackal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)