Stock futures were little changed on Wednesday, indicating the S&P 500 will open a fraction shy of a fresh record amid lingering optimism that borrowing costs will fall in 2024.
“Aside from the customary Santa seasonality, any gains witnessed for the remainder of this week may be attributed to the notable increase in the probability of a soft landing, as indicated by the latest round of high-impact macroeconomic data from the United States,” SPI Asset Management said.
That bullish narrative was being additionally supported by a mostly positive return to trading by markets that were closed for Christmas break, such as the U.K., Germany, Australia and Hong Kong.
Hong Kong and mainland China markets were also buoyed by a rebound for gaming stocks after Beijing appeared to take a more conciliatory tone towards the sector.
Premarket Movers
Apple was slightly lower in premarket trading. Shares fell Tuesday for a fourth-straight session after the Biden administration declined to overturn a recent ruling that bans Apple from selling several models of the Apple Watch in the U.S. because of a patent-infringement issue.
Coherus BioSciences was up 34% after the company received approval from the FDA for its on-body injector of cancer drug Udenyca.
Intel extended gains, rising 0.6% in premarket trading, after jumping 5.2% on Tuesday and closing as the best performer in the S&P 500. The company said it would invest $25 billion in Israel to expand its wafer fabrication site after receiving $3.2 billion from the Israeli government.
Shares of NetEase rose 12% and Tencent Holdings rose 4% in Hong Kong trading after tumbling last week following proposed tougher new rules on gaming by Chinese regulators. U.S.-listed shares of NetEase fell 4% in premarket trading.
Tesla shares rose 0.3%. A Bloomberg report said the company was preparing to launch a revamped version of its popular Model Y SUV from its Shanghai plant. Tesla rose 1.6% on Tuesday.