(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were lower in light post-Christmas holiday trading volumes on Thursday as investors took stock of their portfolios and looked for a boost ahead of the year’s final month from the so-called Santa Claus rally.
Heavyweight Nvidia fell 1.1% in premarket trading, while Google parent Alphabet lost 0.5%.
At 5:03 a.m., the Dow E-minis were down 146 points, or 0.33%, the S&P 500 E-minis, 26.75 points, or 0.44%, and the Nasdaq 100 E-minis, 118.75 points, or 0.54%.
Markets in London and parts of Asia were closed on Thursday.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended Tuesday’s truncated session with a third straight session of gains, offset by mega-cap and growth stocks.
Gains in Apple, Tesla, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Microsoft and Meta Platforms accounted for more than half of the S&P 500’s total return of 28.4% this year, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices Senior Index Analyst Howard Silverblatt.
Without the Magnificent Seven shares, the benchmark index’s total return would have been 13.2% in 2024, Silverblatt added.
U.S. stocks have slowed this month after November’s election-fueled gains as they contend with the Federal Reserve’s projection of fewer interest rate cuts through 2025.
Investors are hoping for a typically strong finish in the final days of the year – the so-called ‘Santa Clause rally’ – a pattern attributed to low liquidity, tax loss harvesting and investing in year-end bonuses.
Since 1969, the S&P 500 has risen an average of 1.3% in the last five trading days of December and the first two days of January, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac. A December without a Christmas gathering was followed by a weaker-than-average year, according to LPL Financial data going back to 1950.
Labor Department data on weekly unemployment claims is due before the market opens Thursday, although claims have entered a period of volatility that could make it challenging to get a clear picture of the labor market.
In addition, major banks and business groups sued the Federal Reserve on Tuesday, alleging that the U.S. central bank’s annual “stress tests” of Wall Street firms violate the law.
(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
