As traders returned from the Christmas break for a single session before the weekend, US stock futures saw minimal movement overnight on Thursday.
In low post-Christmas trade, futures linked to the tech-heavy Nasdaq (NQ=F), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F), and the S&P 500 (ES=F) all stayed close to the flatline.
The benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) and the blue-chip Dow (^DJI) both reached all-time highs as stocks concluded the truncated Christmas Eve session.
As Wall Street entered the so-called Santa Claus rally period, which includes the final five trading sessions of the year and the first two of the new year, all three major indexes recorded their fifth straight victory.
As the indices start to close out a turbulent but ultimately successful year, the rising trend has put them on course for strong weekly gains. The S&P 500 is on track for its sixth year of gains of at least 15% out of the previous seven, up about 18% so far this year.
In the meantime, after briefly going into a bear market following President Trump's most extensive tariffs in April, the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) has paced gains with an over 20% climb in 2025.
Despite declining wagers that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates next year, stocks have continued to rise. Although opinions on what the central bank will do in March are more divided, less than 15% of traders are wagering on a decrease next month.
