Stocks ease at midday after hitting record highs in the morning

12:05pm: Wall Street eases as stimulus enthusiasm settles US major indices fell slightly from their record levels in the morning, but Wall Street was still flying high at the midway point of Tuesday trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 8.8 points to sit at 30,395, while the Nasdaq was also down slightly at 12,856 points - a 43 point decline. The S&P 500, however, was flat at 3,736 points. “Strong markets finish strong,” Tom Lee, co-founder and head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, wrote in a note. “We see positive risk/reward for equities into YE and with strong follow through continuing through much of” next year’s first quarter. 9.45am: Follow-on gains registered US stocks posted fresh record highs in opening deals on Tuesday amid hopes for a $2.3 trillion stimulus package and a vaccine-led economic recovery boosted sentiment in the final days of 2020 - a year otherwise best-forgotten. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 88.1 points, or 0.29%, at the open to 30,492.07, while the S&P 500 added 14.7 points, or 0.39%, to 3750.01, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 66.0 points, or 0.51%, to 12,965.388. Edward Moya, senior market analyst, New York at OANDA commented: "US stocks are rising once again on stimulus hopes. The House passed the bill to increase stimulus payments from $600 to $2000, clearing the 2/3 majority needed for passage as 44 Republicans voted alongside Democrats.   "The bill now goes to the Republican-controlled Senate and it is unclear what will happen next.  Senate Majority Leader McConnell will have to decide if he will present this bill for a vote.  Even if the effort for bigger checks fails now, the goalposts have been moved and the Biden administration will have a better chance of passing additional stimulus once he is inaugurated.  "What complicates the stimulus debate is the upcoming Georgia Senate runoff races. If a Senate vote is called, both Georgia Senators Perdue and Loeffler will have to decide if they support the President's initiative to increase stimulus payments.  Unemployment remains elevated in Georgia rising from 227,700 in October to 296,200 in November and that could motivate many to vote." Moya added: "Risk appetite is limited as thin trading conditions persist and will likely consolidate unless the prospects of a stimulus stem out of the Senate. The Senate might make a counteroffer and that could provide some upside for global equities.  "Stocks pared some gains after Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases delivered cautious comments that the January levels of the virus could be worse than December.  The Christmas surge is expected to deliver the last peak of the virus and should raise expectations for more lockdowns over the next few weeks." 7.40am: More gains predicted US stocks are expected to advance again on Tuesday, building on the rise to record highs in the previous session underpinned by hopes a $2.3 trillion stimulus package signed into law by President Trump on Sunday will be approved by the Senate. The package covers $1.4 trillion in spending to fund government agencies and $892 billion in coronavirus (COVID-19) relief, including $2,000 relief cheques to help cushion the economic impact of the pandemic. The Democratic-controlled House on Monday approved the legislation, but the proposal faces an uncertain future in the Republican-controlled Senate. Dow Jones index futures pointed to a 0.5% higher open on Wall Street today following a strong Monday performance which saw the US blue-chip index gain over 200 points, or nearly 0.7%, to close at 30,403,97. S&P 500 futures were also up 0.5%, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.4%. Global shares rose for the fourth straight session on Tuesday and oil followed suit as hopes of fresh US stimulus teed up a strong end to the year for riskier assets and had the dollar eyeing two-and-a-half-year lows. Britain’s blue-chip shares rose on their first day of trading since the Christmas Eve agreement of a trade deal with the European Union, led by companies in a range of sectors likely to benefit from the deal. Also among the gainers was drugmaker AstraZeneca buoyed by news its COVID-19 vaccine is set to be granted emergency use approval within a few days by the UK government. But demand for riskier assets weakened the US dollar, often seen as a safe-haven asset, which lost 0.2% against a basket of currencies and eyed the 18-month low hit in November. The US economic calendar includes advance data on November trade in goods at 8.30am, the Chicago purchasing managers index for December at 9.45am, and November pending-home sales data at 10.00am. On the corporate front, Boeing shares were higher in pre-market trade as the aircraft maker’s troubled 737 Max plane was slated to carry airline passengers on a flight Tuesday for the first time in around two years, according to news reports.