S&P 500 Futures prints mild gains around 3,850 amid mixed clues during quiet session

• S&P 500 Futures refrain to respect Friday’s risk-off even as covid variant, US stimulus probe bulls.
• Light calendar adds to the market’s silent performance but Biden-backed risk-on stays on the table.

S&P 500 Futures pick up bids near 3,848, up 0.30% intraday, during early Monday. In doing so, the risk barometer regains the upside momentum, although slowly, following Friday’s downbeat performance that was first in the previous four days.

Although no major good news has rolled out during the Asian session, chatters suggesting fastening of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine approval in Australia and US Senators’ statements favoring President Joe Biden’s fiscal stimulus seem to have propelled risks.

Read: US Senator Sanders: Democrats will use reconciliation to pass Covid-19 relief package – CNN

On the contrary, news of the first covid variant in New Zealand’s Northland and increasing odds of a third lockdown in France weigh on the sentiment. Also on the negative side could be news that US President Biden’s reversal of the Trump-era easing of travel restrictions concerning the UK, Brazil and Northern Ireland.

Read: Covid variant implications as markets weigh the risks

It should be noted that a light calendar and improving sentiment ahead of this week’s Fed, not to forget the fourth quarter (Q4) US GDP, also probe the market players.

Amid these plays, Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Australia’s ASX 200 rise 0.30% whereas the US 10-year Treasury yields stay firm around 1.098% by press time. Additionally, the US dollar index (DXY) trims Friday’s gains while declining to 90.21.

While the recent risk-on mood challenges the US dollar and favors commodities and Antipodeans, the strength of the momentum isn’t enough to recall the bulls as uncertainty over the US aid package remains. Also, the covid variant updates recall fears of a double-dip recession in the key global economies and challenge the optimists.