Stock Market Today: S&P 500 record in sight as Treasury rally boosts bulls
The S&P 500, just 15 points from its all-time closing high, could get help from the bond market over the next two days to eclipse that record.
Check back for updates throughout the trading day
Stocks are looking at their fourth consecutive single-session gain, with the S&P 500 now within just 15 points of its January 2022 all-time high.
The move followed another end-of-year bond-market rally that pulled benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields to the lowest levels since July.
Adding to the bullish bond market tenor: a solid auction of $58 billion in new 5-year notes yesterday. It drew softer interest from foreign investors than a similar sale last month but was deemed a success given the holiday-thinned trading.
Traders will now likely focus on the release of weekly jobless claims data at 8:30 am Eastern time, the last major reading of the year, to justify the newly accelerated bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates.
Investors are pricing in at least an 87% chance that the Fed begins cutting rates at its March meeting, according to data from CME Group's FedWatch tool. Follow-on reductions are expected at each of the next four meetings over the spring and summer.
On Wall Street, futures tied to the S&P 500 are indicating a 2-point opening-bell gain while those linked to the Dow suggest a 40-point fall from last night's all-time high of 37,565.52 points.
The tech-focused Nasdaq, meanwhile, is called 50 points higher.
In other markets, global oil prices moved lower in overnight dealing. Shipping companies, aided by a U.S.-lead military operation, are resuming cargo journeys through the Red Sea following a series of pre-Christmas attacks from Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.
Brent crude futures contracts for February delivery, the global benchmark, were last marked 91 cents lower on the session at $78.74 per barrel while WTI futures for the same month fell 80 cents to $732.32 per barrel.
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 was marked 0.1% lower in early Frankfurt trading while Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.13% in London.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were given a lift in China on reports that Central Huijin, an investment arm of the Chinese government, is looking to add to stakes in China-owned banks.
The regionwide MSCI ex-Japan index was marked 1.4% higher heading into the close of trading. Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 0.42% higher on its final trading day of the year to extend the benchmark's 2023 gain to 30.4%.
- Action Alerts PLUS offers expert portfolio guidance to help you make informed investing decisions. Sign up now.
What's Your Reaction?
