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US stock index futures were slightly higher in Wednesday night trading, ahead of the last trading day of the shortened week.
Futures contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 48 points. S&P 500 futures were up 0.12%, while Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.08%.
The S&P 500 ended Wednesday’s session with little change – up less than 0.1% – after slipping in the final minutes of trading. Still, the benchmark managed to break a three-day losing streak. The Dow Jones gained 114.32 points, or 0.38%, after advancing more than 270 points at one point in the session. The Nasdaq Composite hit a record high, before erasing these gains and closing 0.29% lower.
“It was selling in the dominant tech names in the index that weighed on the SPX, not in broad market weakness,” Vital Knowledge’s Adam Crisafulli said in a note. Netflix and Microsoft were among the tech names that fell 2.4% and 1.3% respectively.
The end-of-day slump came as investors took profits at the end of the year and President Donald Trump vetoed a sweeping defense bill. The move came after he called Congress’ months-long, $ 900 billion Covid relief program an inappropriate “shame.” The president particularly took issue with direct payments, which he said should be increased from $ 600 to $ 2,000.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed Trump’s call for higher payments and said House Democrats would seek to pass a stand-alone bill with unanimous consent on Thursday.
The main averages are mixed as the last day of the shortened week approaches. The Nasdaq is on track to end the week higher, while the Dow Jones and S&P 500 are slightly lower for the week. The Russell 2000, which hit a new all-time intraday and closing high on Wednesday, is also higher for the week. Amid the strength of small-cap stocks, the index is on track for its eighth straight week of gains – the longest weekly winning streak since February 2019.
On the data front, jobless claims in the United States totaled 803,000 in the week ending Dec. 19, better than an estimate of 888,000 according to economists polled by Dow Jones. However, basic durable goods and personal income fell short of expectations in November.
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