March S&P 500 E-Mini futures are down -0.24%, Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures down -0.44%, indicating a lower open on Wall Street. Tech megacaps like Tesla and Nvidia are down over -1%. Investors await Fed meeting minutes and U.S. economic data. Last week, major indices closed slightly lower, with chip and energy stocks falling, while Target surged over +3%.
Market watchers anticipate a ‘Santa Claus Rally’ as stocks historically rise in late December. Since 1950, S&P 500 has seen average returns of 1.3%, gaining 78% of the time. U.S. markets will be closed on New Year’s Day, with bond markets closing early on New Year’s Eve at 2 p.m. Eastern Time.
Focus this week on FOMC meeting minutes for insights on potential rate cuts, as well as economic data releases like S&P/CS HPI, Initial Jobless Claims, and more. U.S. rate futures predict an 82.8% chance of no rate change at the Fed’s January meeting. Pending home sales data and EIA’s crude oil inventory report are due today.
Euro Stoxx 50 Index down -0.04% with defense stocks leading declines after Trump’s optimism on Ukraine peace deal. Industrial stocks fell, while mining stocks rose. Spain’s inflation data and Eurozone’s manufacturing PMI in focus. ION Beam Applications climbs +4% on South Korea contract news. Asian markets mixed, China extends winning streak on domestic consumption boost.
Shanghai Composite Index closes higher for ninth consecutive session, supported by government efforts to boost domestic consumption. Defense stocks rise amid military drills around Taiwan. China’s finance ministry pledges proactive fiscal policy in 2026. Industrial profits fall in November, signaling economic challenges. Profits at major industrial enterprises in China rose 0.1% year-over-year in the January-November period, showing slowing growth but resilience. Investor focus now shifts to China’s PMI data for December later this week.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Index closed lower today, with chip stocks sliding and bank stocks rising. The Bank of Japan’s summary of opinions from its latest policy meeting revealed discussions on the need for interest rate hikes. Japanese government bond yields rose and the yen strengthened after the release of the summary.
In pre-market U.S. trading, Tesla and Nvidia fell over -1%, while chip stocks like Micron Technology, Marvell Technology, and Advanced Micro Devices dropped over -1%. DigitalBridge Group jumped over +35% on reports of SoftBank Group’s potential acquisition. Energy stocks and service providers advanced with WTI crude up over +2%.
Today’s U.S. earnings spotlight includes Immersion Corp, RCI Hospitality, and Brookmount Explorations Inc. Oleksandr Pylypenko did not hold positions in any mentioned securities. Information in this article is for informational purposes only and was originally published on Barchart.com.
Read more at Yahoo Finance: Stocks Set to Open Lower as Investors Trim Risk at Year-End, Fed Minutes Awaited