Traders enactment connected the level astatine the New York Stock Exchange connected Dec. 10, 2024.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Stock futures edged up successful overnight trading Sunday arsenic the marketplace gears up for a holiday-shortened trading week.
Futures connected the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained astir 100 points. S&P 500 futures roseate 0.3% and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.4%.
Trading is expected to beryllium comparatively muted during the week. The New York Stock Exchange closes aboriginal Tuesday for Christmas Eve astatine 1 p.m. ET, and the marketplace is unopen connected Christmas Day.
Investors are hopeful that a alleged Santa Claus rally whitethorn assistance the marketplace extremity 2024 connected a precocious note, particularly pursuing a tumultuous week. Dating backmost to 1969, the S&P 500, connected average, added 1.3% successful the past 5 trading days of the twelvemonth and the archetypal 2 successful January, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac.
The 2nd fractional of December is besides typically the second-strongest play of the twelvemonth for U.S. equities, and the S&P 500 has been up 83% of the clip successful December of statesmanlike predetermination years, according to Bank of America.
"With the market's superior uptrends inactive intact, we are not giving up connected the imaginable for a Santa Claus to travel to Broad & Wall this year," Craig Johnson, main marketplace technician astatine Piper Sandler, said successful a note.
The marketplace is coming disconnected a rollercoaster thrust that saw the blue-chip Dow endure a 10-day losing streak, its longest since 1974. The Dow tumbled 1,100 points past Wednesday aft the Federal Reserve signaled less complaint cuts for 2025 than antecedently projected. A cooler-than-expected ostentation speechmaking helped stocks recoup immoderate of the losses.
Month-to-date, the 30-stock Dow is down 4.6% successful December, portion the S&P 500 is disconnected 1.7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite bucked the downtrend, rising 1.8% this month.
On the authorities front, President Joe Biden signed a authorities backing measure connected Saturday that averted a authorities shutdown. The measure funds national agencies astatine existent levels for the adjacent 3 months.
December is historically the second-best month for stocks
December is historically the second-best month in a U.S. statesmanlike predetermination twelvemonth for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac. On average, the 2 indexes summation 1.3% and 0.8% connected the month, respectively, during specified years. For the Nasdaq Composite, statesmanlike predetermination twelvemonth Decembers are usually the fifth-best of the year, with the tech-heavy scale rising an mean 0.9%.
The bulk of gains successful December usually travel successful the backmost fractional of the month, erstwhile a Santa Claus rally, and debased trading volumes, could springiness this year's monster tally 1 last propulsion toward the decorativeness line.
— Sarah Min
English (US)