US stock futures steady after Christmas holiday

U.S. stock index futures were largely steady on Wednesday evening as markets were shut for Christmas, while Wall Street saw a rally in megacap stocks in a shortened trading session a day earlier.

The New York Stock Exchange closed early on Tuesday for Christmas Eve, and the market was shut on Christmas Day. Trading volumes were expected to be thin for the remaining sessions in a holiday-shortened week.

S&P 500 Futures were muted at 6,097.50 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures were slightly higher at 22,060.00 points by 19:00 ET (00:00 GMT). Dow Jones Futures  were largely steady at 43,620.00 points. Tech gains push Wall Street higher

Tech added to its strong start to the week as the so-called Magnificent 7 jumped on Tuesday.

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA ) jumped over 7%, and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL ) gained 1.2%, while other tech giants including Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN ), Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META ), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL ) also climbed.

Chip stocks, which had posted gains at the start of the week, added to gains on Tuesday as the Biden administration initiated a new trade investigation into Chinese-made legacy chips. 

The probe, which may result in additional tariffs on Chinese semiconductors, underscores ongoing tensions in the global tech supply chain.

Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO ) jumped over 3%, while Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC ) gained 1%.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 climbed 1.1% to 6,040.04 points, and the NASDAQ Composite advanced 1.4% to 20,031.13, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9% to 43,297.03 points. Wall Street recovers from Fed-induced last week slump

The U.S. Federal Reserve projected fewer-than-expected cuts in 2025 last week. This had led to sharp falls in all three major indexes in the previous week and a weekly decline on Wall Street.

The Fed signaled a cautious approach to monetary policy adjustments, emphasizing the need for continued progress on inflation before considering further rate cuts.

Markets scaled back rate cut expectations after the Fed meeting, pricing in just two more cuts in the upcoming year.

Wall Street gradually shrugged off rate outlook concerns after PCE inflation data came in slightly softer than expected. Major stock indexes jumped on Monday and gained further on Tuesday, regaining most of the ground they lost last week.

Source: Investing.com