|

S&P 500 opens little changed at 3,730 on New Year's Eve

  • Wall Street's main indexes trade little changed on Thursday.
  • US stock markets will close early on New Year's eve. 
  • S&P 500 Energy Index is down nearly 1%.

Major equity indexes in the US started the day near Wednesday's closing level as trading volume remains thin on New Year's Eve. As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.14% at 30,367, the S&P 500 was losing 0.1% at 3,730 and the Nasdaq Composite was unchanged at 12,863.

Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the Energy Index is down 1% after the opening bell, possibly pressure by profit-taking following this week's strong performance. On the other hand, the Communication Services Index is the top performer in the early trade, gaining 0.4%.

The data published by the US Department of Labor showed on Thursday that the Initial Jobless Claims declined by 19,000 to 787,000 last week but this reading was largely ignored by market participants.

S&P 500 2021 outlook

S&P 500 Price Forecast 2021: Optimism is not inappropriate as bulls could enjoy another 15% winning year.

"The next year appears very positive for equities and the S&P 500," says FXStreet Senior Analyst Joseph Trevisani. "Once the pandemic retreats, deferred global consumer demand should drive a robust expansion in growth."  

Author

Eren Sengezer

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

More from Eren Sengezer
Share:

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD accelerates losses, focus is on 1.1800

EUR/USD’s selling pressure is gathering pace now, opening the door to a potential test of the key 1.1800 region sooner rather than later. The pair’s pullback comes on the back of marked gains in the US Dollar following US data releases and the publication of the FOMC Minutes later in the day.

GBP/USD turns negative near 1.3540

GBP/USD reverses its initial upside momentum and is now adding to previous declines, revisiting at the same time the 1.3540 region on Wednesday. Cable’s downtick comes on the back of decent gains in the Greenback and easing UK inflation figures, which seem to have reinforced the case for a BoE rate cut in March.

Gold picks pace, flirts with $5,000

Gold is back on the front foot on Wednesday, shaking off part of the early week softness and pushing higher towards the key $5,000 mark per troy ounce. The move comes ahead of the FOMC Minutes and is unfolding despite an intense rebound in the US Dollar.

Fed Minutes to shed light on January hold decision amid hawkish rate outlook

The Minutes of the Fed’s January 27-28 monetary policy meeting will be published today. Details of discussions on the decision to leave the policy rate unchanged will be scrutinized by investors.

Mixed UK inflation data no gamechanger for the Bank of England

Food inflation plunged in January, but service sector price pressure is proving stickier. We continue to expect Bank of England rate cuts in March and June. The latest UK inflation read is a mixed bag for the Bank of England, but we doubt it drastically changes the odds of a March rate cut.

Sui extends sideways action ahead of Grayscale’s GSUI ETF launch

Sui is extending its downtrend for the second consecutive day, trading at 0.95 at the time of writing on Wednesday. The Layer-1 token is down over 16% in February and approximately 34% from the start of the year, aligning with the overall bearish sentiment across the crypto market.