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Stock futures were mixed early Monday as the market gears up for a holiday-shortened trading week.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials sank 98 points, or 0.2%, to 42,218.
Futures for the S&P 500 gained 2.25 points to 6,004
Futures for the NASDAQ picked up 80.5 points or 0.4%, to 21,647.
Trading is expected to be relatively muted during the week. The New York Stock Exchange closes early Tuesday for Christmas Eve at 1 p.m. ET, and the market is shut on Christmas Day.
Investors are hopeful that a so-called Santa Claus rally may help the market end 2024 on a high note, especially following a tumultuous week.
Dating back to 1969, the S&P 500, on average, added 1.3% in the last five trading days of the year and the first two in January, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac.
The second half of December is also typically the second-strongest period of the year for U.S. equities, and the S&P 500 has been up 83% of the time in December of presidential election years, according to Bank of America.
The market is coming off a rollercoaster ride that saw the blue-chip Dow suffer a 10-day losing streak, its longest since 1974. The Dow tumbled 1,100 points last Wednesday after the Federal Reserve signaled fewer rate cuts for 2025 than previously projected. A cooler-than-expected inflation reading helped stocks recoup some of the losses.
Month-to-date, the 30-stock Dow is down 4.6% in December, while the S&P 500 is off 1.7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite bucked the downtrend, rising 1.8% this month.
On the politics front, President Joe Biden signed a government funding bill on Saturday that averted a government shutdown. The bill funds
federal agencies at current levels for the next three months.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 captured 1.2% Monday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng moved higher 0.8%
Oil prices added 27 cents to $69.19 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices subtracted $16.10 to $2,629 U.S. an ounce.
