U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher in overnight trading on Wednesday, ahead of the last trading day of the week shortened holidays.
The Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 48 points. S&P 500 futures rose 0.12%, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose to 0.08%.
The S&P 500 finished Wednesday’s session very little – rising less than 0.1% – after slipping in the final minutes of trading. However, the index became a criterion for missing a three-day climb. The Dow gained 114.32 points, or 0.38%, after rising more than 270 points at one point during the session. The Nasdaq Composite hit its highest level, before reaping those gains and closing 0.29% lower.
“It was selling in the tech names that were above index measuring the SPX, not a broad market weakness,” Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge said in a note. Netflix and Microsoft were among the tech names that declined, falling 2.4% and 1.3%, respectively.
The slide came late in the day when investors brought in profits to the end of the year, and as President Donald Trump blocked a sweeping protection bill. The move came after he announced Covid ‘s $ 900 billion package deal at Congress – long months in the making – “shame. The president raised a special issue with the direct payments, which he said should be raised from $ 600 to $ 2,000.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi agreed with Trump’s call for higher payments, and said House Democrats will try to pass an independent bill with unanimous approval Thursday.
The large mixed averages go into the last day of the week shortened by holidays. The Nasdaq is on track for a higher weekend, and the Dow and S&P 500 are slightly lower for the week. The Russell 2,000, which hit a new intraday and closed Wednesday’s high, is also higher for the week. Among strengths in the names of small captains, the index is on track for its eighth straight week of gain – the longest weekly winning streak since February 2019.
In terms of data, U.S. jobless claims came in at 803,000 during the week ending Dec. 19, better than the estimate of 888,000 according to economists surveyed by Dow Jones. However, durable goods and personal incomes both fell than expected in November.
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