Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow futures soar as Wall Street looks to new year’s comeback
U.S. stock futures soared on Thursday, led by technology stocks, as the new year got off to a good start as the holidays on Wall Street ended.
Contracts tied to the S&P 500 Index (ES=F) rose 0.7%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) gained 0.6%. Futures for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index (NQ=F) rose 0.9% as traders recovered from Wednesday’s holiday shutdown.
The year-end slide that began this week has dampened hopes of a “Santa Claus rally” and markets are looking for a comeback. But this decline limited the U.S. stock market’s blowout in 2024, with the S&P 500 Index (^GSPC) rising by more than 20% for two consecutive years, something that has never been achieved in the past three decades.
Several big tech stocks were higher in early trading, with Nvidia (NVDA), Amazon (AMZN) and Meta (META) all rising on renewed optimism about artificial intelligence. What is the role of “giant”? Following last year’s outperformance, the stock will power the market in 2025.
Data show that during the holiday week, U.S. mortgage rates rose to 6.97%, reaching the highest level since early July. The Mortgage Bankers Association said the increase weighed on home purchase applications and weakened refinances.
Weekly jobless claims fell to their lowest level since March. Data released by the Labor Department on Thursday morning showed that 211,000 people filed initial claims for unemployment benefits, down from an upwardly revised 220,000 the previous week. Meanwhile, continuing claims for unemployment benefits fell to 1,844,000 in the week ended December 21, a decrease of 52,000 from the previous week.
On the corporate front, Apple (AAPL) shares edged lower after the iPhone maker offered a rare price discount for its latest models in China, reflecting growing competition from local phone makers. Meanwhile, Alibaba (BABA, 9988.HK) shares fell as the market absorbed news that the Chinese e-commerce giant would sell its stake in supermarket chain Sun Art Retail (SURRY, 6808.HK) at a deep discount.
Tesla ( TSLA ) shares moved higher ahead of the electric car maker’s fourth-quarter delivery data, after a Cybertruck exploded in Las Vegas on Wednesday, killing the driver. The FBI is investigating whether the explosion outside the Trump International Hotel was an act of terrorism.
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