By Medha Singh and Purvi Agarwal
(Reuters) -Wall Street’s main indexes were on track for a subdued open in a shortened trading session on Tuesday as U.S. equity markets enter a historically strong period before rounding off their second consecutive year of gains.
With few major catalysts, thin trading volumes expected in the final days of the year raise the prospect of choppy trading.
Stock markets will shut at 1:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and will be closed for Christmas on Wednesday.
At 08:32 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 22 points, or 0.05%, E-minis were up 8 points, or 0.13%, and E-minis were up 53.25 points, or 0.24%.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notched two consecutive sessions of gains on Monday, helped by advances in a handful of megacap and growth companies.
“Because they ended higher yesterday, investors are breathing a sigh of relief that maybe the hawkish rate cut last week combined with the softer PCE reading indicate that inflation is not that big of a re-emerging threat,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist of CFRA Research.
“As a result, maybe this market will end up creeping higher between now and the end of the year.”
After a stellar run to record highs following the November election that sparked hopes of pro-business policies under U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, Wall Street’s rally hit a bump this month as investors grappled with the prospect of higher interest rates in 2025.
The U.S. Federal Reserve eased borrowing costs for the third time this year last Wednesday, but signaled only two more 25-basis-point reductions next year, down from its September projection of four cuts, as policymakers weigh the possibility of Trump’s policies stoking inflation.
Traders expect the Fed to leave rates in the range of 4% to 4.25% by the end of 2025, from between 3.75% and 4% about 10 days ago, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
Markets are currently in a historically strong period called the “Santa Claus rally”. The S&P 500 on average has gained 1.3% in the last five days of December and first two days of January, according to data from the Stock Trader’s Almanac going back to 1969.
However, market participants are questioning if U.S. stocks’ climb to new record highs will be attainable in the coming days, amid concerns about sky-high valuations and the overall health of the market.
The benchmark S&P 500 fell about 1% in December but the equal-weight S&P 500, a proxy for the average index stock, is down 5.8%.
Among individual stocks, NeueHealth soared 64.7% in premarket trading after the healthcare provider said New Enterprise Associates, its largest shareholder, and a group of existing investors will take the company private in a $1.3 billion deal.
American Airlines (NASDAQ:)’ shares were marginally down after the carrier briefly grounded all its flights in the United States due to an unspecified technical issue, disrupting the travel plans of thousands of passengers set to fly out for Christmas Eve.
