U.S. stock index futures were relatively unchanged on Wednesday evening, following the closure of the markets for the Christmas holiday. This stability comes after a rally in large-cap stocks on Wall Street during a shortened trading session on Tuesday.
The New York Stock Exchange closed early on Tuesday in observance of Christmas Eve and remained closed on Christmas Day. Due to the holiday-shortened trading week, trading volumes were anticipated to be light for the remaining sessions.
At 7:00 PM ET (12:00 AM GMT), S&P 500 futures were pretty stable, sitting at 6,097.50 points. Nasdaq 100 futures edged up a bit to 22,060.00 points, while Dow Jones futures held steady at 43,620.00 points.
This week has been exciting for tech stocks, especially with the “Magnificent 7” taking the lead on Tuesday! Tesla jumped over 7%, and Apple enjoyed some nice, modest gains. Other big names like Amazon, Meta Platforms, Alphabet, Broadcom, and Intel also joined the celebration.
Chip stocks, which were already on the rise earlier this week, picked up even more steam after the Biden administration announced a new investigation into Chinese-made legacy chips. This could mean new tariffs down the line, adding a bit of spice to the ongoing global tech supply chain story.
The Federal Reserve’s less-than-expected outlook for interest rate cuts last week initially triggered sharp declines in U.S. stock markets. The Fed signaled a cautious approach, emphasizing the need for continued inflation progress before considering further rate reductions.
Markets subsequently adjusted their rate cut expectations, pricing in fewer cuts than previously anticipated. However, after softer-than-expected inflation data, Wall Street gradually recovered, with major indexes rebounding significantly on Monday and Tuesday.