The futures linked to the DOW JONES fell a slight 0.08% to 42,873 points, while those of the S&P 500 advanced 0.01%, to 5,974 points. NASDAQ 100 futures rose 0.08% to 21,512 points.
Today is expected to be a quiet day on Wall Street, with less activity than usual due to Christmas Eve. The New York Stock Exchange will close at 1:00 p.m. ET (7:00 p.m. Spanish peninsular time)while the bond market closes at 2:00 p.m. ET. Tomorrow both markets will remain closed for the Christmas celebration.
The major New York indices come from a quiet day yesterday, Monday, which also evolved from less to more: The DOW JONES rose 0.16% at the close, while the S&P 500 added 0.73% and the technology Nasdaq rose 0. .98%.
Technology names and semiconductor stocks were among the day’s big winners, reflected in the improved performance of the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Meta Platforms rose more than 2% and Broadcom advanced more than 5%, while NVIDIA rose 3.7%.
However, the macro references left some doubts about the solidity of the world’s largest economy. The Conference Board consumer confidence index fell to 104.7 in December. The reading missed Dow Jones’ estimate of 113.0 and marked the index’s lowest level since September of 98.7. Additionally, durable goods orders fell 1.1% in November, their biggest monthly drop since June.
The great doubt of the markets is if the so-called Santa Claus rally will take place. The S&P 500 has gained an average of 1.3% in the last five days of December and the first two days of January, according to data from the Stock Trader’s Almanac dating back to 1969.
However, market participants are wondering if there is room for these increases. The benchmark S&P 500 index is down about 1% in December, while the equal-weighted S&P 500, a proxy for the index’s average performance, is down 5.8%.
Jay Hatfield of Infrastructure Capital Advisors sees a bit of stagnation in the market in the coming days. He remains faithful to his target of 6,000 points for the S&P 500 by the end of 2024, implying just a 0.4% increase for the index since Monday’s close. “We could have a Santa Claus rally, but those are not that powerful rallies,” he says in statements to CNBC. “We are neutral in the market.”
On the corporate front, US Steel shares are down more than 3% in pre-opening. As reported by a White House spokesperson, the $15 billion offer from Nippon Steel by the American has been sent to US President Joe Biden, who has 15 days to decide on the operation.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS), which reviews foreign investments for national security risks, referred the deal to Biden after he could not reach a consensus. The outgoing president has previously been critical of the merger, which President-elect Donald Trump also appears to oppose.
Investors should also be attentive to the prices of large banks, such as Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase or Goldman Sachs, after yesterday the Federal Reserve announced that it will study a relaxation in the annual stress tests to which it subjects the entities. .
In commodity markets, oil prices advance on Tuesday, reversing the previous session’s losses, buoyed by a slightly positive near-term market outlook and stronger US economic data, despite thin trading earlier of the Christmas holidays.
US West Texas futures rise 1.01% to $69.94 per barrel, while European benchmark Brent oil pays $72.98 per barrel, up 0.94%.
In currencies, the dollar index rose 0.1% to 108.2, near the two-year high of 108.54 hit on Friday. The euro fell 0.09% against the greenback to a cross of $1.0395 for each single currency, close to its lowest levels since November.
In fixed income, bond yields give a slight respite, with the yield on the ten-year US bond falling 12 points to 4.586%. Meanwhile, the two-year bond pays 4.34% in the secondary market.