Shares of energy companies rose sharply as investors rotated into sectors associated with economic risk ahead of Joe Biden's inauguration.
Hopes for fiscal stimulus weighed on the dollar, driving up the price of oil. Mr. Biden is expected to make a $1.9 trillion economic-stimulus plan one of his top priorities when he ascends to the presidency on Wednesday.
His nominee for Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, exhorted Congress to "act big" on fiscal stimulus.
Natural-gas futures plunged 7% to the lowest level of 2021 as forecasts indicated warming in many parts of the U.S. The notoriously volatile commodity has responded with particular ferocity to shifts in forecasts this year.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-19-21 1719ET
