U.S. stock index futures rose Thursday, starting the new year on an optimistic note after the stellar gains of the past year.
At 05:25 ET (10:25 GMT), Dow Jones Futures rose 195 points, or 0.5%, S&P 500 Futures gained 38 points, or 0.7%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 165 points, or 0.8%.
The main Wall Street indices slipped back towards the end of 2024, as a so-called “Santa Rally” largely failed to materialize amid concerns over a slower pace of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and uncertainty over policy under incoming President Donald Trump.
However, these indexes were sitting on stellar gains through 2024. The NASDAQ Composite rose 28.6%, benefiting the most from an AI-fueled rally in technology stocks, the S&P 500 rose 23.3%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added just under 13%. Trump policy, Fed rate cuts to take focus in 2025
Trump’s economic and international policies are set to be the biggest point of focus in the coming month, as he takes office later in January.
Trump has vowed to dole out largely expansionary policies, but has also pledged hefty trade tariffs against major US trading partners such as China, Canada, and Mexico.
Uncertainty over Trump’s policies saw investors turn cautious in recent weeks, sparking some profit-taking after an initial rally on Wall Street in response to Trump’s election victory in early-November.
Investors also fear that Trump’s policies could keep inflation elevated in the long-term, inviting fewer interest rate cuts by the Fed.
The central bank recently flagged a slower pace of rate cuts in 2025, citing concerns over sticky inflation and a robust labor market.
The holiday-shortened week has been light on economic data, but Thursday will bring a look at weekly jobless claims as well as the S&P Global manufacturing PMI data for December, ahead of next week’s monthly official jobs report. Apple offers iPhone discounts in China
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL ) is offering discounts on its latest iPhone models in China, a rare move that points to rising competition from domestic rivals in the world's largest smartphone market.
Apple is grappling with declining market share in the important Chinese market, with competition from local manufacturers becoming more intense. Crude gains on China optimism
Crude prices edged higher Thursday, helped by declining US oil inventories while traders cautiously eyed an economic recovery in China, the largest importer in the world.
By 10:25 ET, the US crude futures (WTI) climbed 1.4% to $72.75 a barrel, while the Brent contract rose 1.3% to $75.64 a barrel.
China's Xi Jinping said on Tuesday in his New Year's address that the country would implement more proactive policies to promote growth in 2025.
China's factory activity grew in December, according to the private-sector Caixin/S&P Global survey on Thursday, but at a slower than expected pace.
This echoed Tuesday’s official survey, and suggested policy stimulus is gradually trickling into the second largest economy in the world.
The American Petroleum Institute reported on Tuesday that US oil inventories fell by 1.4 million barrels last week.
Official data from the Energy Information Administration is due later on Thursday, and a drop in US oil inventories tends to indicate an increase in demand for crude oil.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)
Source: Investing.com