US STOCKS-Futures hit record high on stimulus hopes, speedy vaccine rollout

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* Futures up: Dow 0.39%, S&P 0.35%, Nasdaq 0.42%

By Devik Jain and Shreyashi Sanyal
Feb 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures hit a record high
on Monday as investors were optimistic that a massive fiscal
relief package and a rapid vaccination rollout would drive a
speedy economic recovery from the pandemic-driven recession.
The S&P 500 .SPX and the Nasdaq .IXIC closed at record
levels on Friday and logged their best weekly performance since
the U.S. elections in early November, following upbeat earnings
and economic data last week.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday if
Congress approves the $1.9 trillion plan, the country would get
back to full employment next year.
Last week, Congress approved a budget plan that would allow
a coronavirus relief bill to muscle through in the coming weeks
without Republican support. Progress in vaccination efforts and upbeat fourth-quarter
earnings have propped up investor confidence despite fears of a
short-term pullback in stocks due to heightened valuations and
increasing coronavirus infections.
According to the U.S. CDC, 31.59 million people have
received one or more doses of COVID-19 vaccines, while 9.15
million people got the second dose as of Sunday. At 6:43 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 122 points, or
0.39%, S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 13.5 points, or 0.35%,
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 57.75 points, or 0.42%.
Walt Disney Co DIS.N , Cisco Systems Inc CSCO.O and
General Motors Co GM.N were all up between 1.6% and 2.5% in
premarket trading, ahead of their earnings reports this week.
S&P 500 companies now on track to post earnings growth for
the fourth quarter as opposed to a decline forecast previously,
according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Oil prices rose to their highest in a over a year, lifting
Marathon Oil Corp MRO.N , Schlumberger NV SLB.N , Exxon Mobil
Corp XOM.N , Chevron Corp CVX.N and Occidental Petroleum Corp
OXY.N by between 2.1% and 2.4%. O/R
Hasbro Inc HAS.O rose 2.6% after the toymaker beat
analysts' estimates for quarterly revenue on higher demand for
its board games and "Magic: The Gathering" collectible cards.