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(Bloomberg) -- US stock futures and Treasuries declined as trading resumed after the Christmas holiday with investors looking to initial jobless claims data and a government bond auction later on Thursday.
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Contracts on the S&P 500 fell 0.4% by 5:52 a.m. in New York and futures for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.5%. In premarket trading, cryptocurrency-tied stocks like MicroStrategy Inc. and Riot Platforms Inc. declined, tracking a drop in Bitcoin. Most major markets in Europe are still shut for holidays.
Equity bulls are pinning their hopes on what’s known as the “Santa Claus rally” in which stocks rise during the final five trading sessions of a year and the first two of the new one. Driven by optimism about the strength of the US economy and developments in artificial intelligence, the S&P 500 is set for its largest jump relative to the rest of the world since 1997. With Trump’s inauguration slated for Jan. 20, investors are awaiting insights on his proposed policies, including tax cuts and tariffs.
Treasury 10-year yields climbed two basis points to 4.61% before the US auctions $44 billion of seven-year notes on Thursday. The dollar was broadly steady against its Group-of-10 peers.
The S&P 500 closed 1.1% higher on Tuesday, extending this year’s advance to 27%. The Nasdaq 100 added 1.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.9%. Oil held gains after an advance before the Christmas break, with China’s stimulus measures and the outlook for US stockpiles in focus.
In Asia, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed for a fourth day, the longest winning streak since September, led by Japan and Taiwan. Japanese shares also rose after central bank governor Kazuo Ueda on Wednesday avoided giving any clues about a possible interest-rate hike.
“Weakness in the yen on the back of recent Fed-BOJ policy divergence has offered some support for Japanese equities in today’s session, coupled with the year-end positive seasonality around the Santa Claus rally,” said Jun Rong Yeap, a market strategist at IG Asia Pte in Singapore.
Japanese retail shares gained after the country agreed with China to introduce more measures to promote tourist visits. The two nations also agreed that Beijing’s top diplomat should visit Japan in 2025, adding to signs the two nations are repairing ties that have been strained in recent years.
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