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Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., November 29, 2024.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
U.S. stock futures were flat Tuesday night after the S&P 500 posted a new record close.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 added just 0.06%. Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.2%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 83 points, or 0.2%.
During the regular session, the S&P 500 inched up by 0.05%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.4%. Both indexes closed at records. The 30-stock Dow was the laggard, with a decline of nearly 0.2%.
The major averages have had a tepid start to the December trading month compared to the major averages' strong November advance following Donald Trump's victory at the polls. However, the rally is likely to pick up again this month, according to LPL Financial portfolio strategist George Smith.
"Turning the calendar ahead to December, momentum could continue for stocks as historically it has been a good month for stock market seasonals," he said. "These strong returns are historically often back-end loaded."
Labor market data – the November payrolls report due Friday, in particular – could shape the next stage of the rally. Data issued on Tuesday showed that job openings totaled 7.74 million in October, topping economists' forecasts.
On Wednesday, traders will review the ADP private payrolls report for November, which is expected to show growth of 163,000 positions, per economists polled by Dow Jones. The S&P Global U.S. Services Purchasing Managers' Index, factory orders and durable goods are also slated for release.
On the Federal Reserve front, Chair Jerome Powell will be speaking in New York in a moderated discussion Wednesday afternoon.
On the earnings front, Chewy, Dollar Tree and Foot Locker are among the companies scheduled to report earnings Wednesday morning.
Individual Investors are skeptical of continued market strength in December, BofA says
Individual investors are skeptical that this year's rally in the S&P 500 will continue in December, Bank of America said, citing data from the American Association of Individual Investors.
The latest weekly AAII poll showed the percentage of investors who think stock prices will rise over the next six months fell to 41.3% from 49.9% the week before. Bearish opinion — that prices will fall between now and next May — grew to 33.2% from 28.3%.
With bears growing and bulls shrinking and the S&P 500 above 6,000, the market is climbing a "wall of worry," said Stephen Suttmeier, BofA's technical research strategist. "Individual investors are not raging bulls on last week's rally to SPX 6000," he wrote Monday. Survey results suggest "that individual investors are not convinced that the SPX will continue its 2024 rally in December, but if the SPX does rally into yearend, these investors may be forced into a catch-up trade that fuels the rally" further, he added.
S&P 500 since last month's presidential election.
— Scott Schnipper
Stock futures open flat
U.S. stock futures were little changed Tuesday night.
The S&P 500 added 0.05%. Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 83 points, or 0.2%. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.1%.
— Hakyung Kim
English (US)