On Tuesday, December 31, American markets closed lower as Wall Street ended 2024 on a depressive note. Major indexes fell in a low-volume session, ending a year of bumper gains driven by the artificial intelligence boom, Federal Reserve rate cuts and a resilient U.S. economy.
The Nasdaq rose 28.6%, the S&P 500 rose 23.3% and the Dow rose 12.9%, marking the S&P 500’s best two-year performance since 1997-1998.
The energy, materials and real estate sectors led the S&P 500’s gains Tuesday, while consumer discretionary and technology stocks finished lower. Of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, communications services, technology and consumer discretionary were the best performers in 2024, posting annual gains ranging from 29.1% to 38.9%.
In economic data, the S&P Case-Shiller home price index rose 4.2% year-over-year in October, slightly below September’s 4.6% and above 4.1%. planned. The FHFA’s home price index rose 0.4% in October, missing the estimate by 0.5%. Meanwhile, the Dallas Fed’s index of services sector activity in Texas fell to 9.6 from 9.8 in November.
The Dow Jones fell 0.07% to close at 42,544.22, the S&P 500 closed 0.43% lower at 5,881.60, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.90% to finish at 19,310.79.
Asian markets today
- The Japanese market was closed for New Year’s Day.
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index closed 0.52 per cent higher at 8,201.20 on Thursday, led by gains in the energy, resources, metals and mining sectors.
- India’s Nifty 50 closed 1.79% higher at 24,168.50, and the Nifty 500 climbed 1.45% to close at 22,807.90,
- China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.66% to close at 3,262.56, while the Shenzhen CSI 300 lost 2.91%, ending the day at 3,820.40.
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed the session down 2.18% at 19,623.32.
The Eurozone at 5:30 a.m. Eastern Time
-- The European STOXX 50 index fell 0.73%.
- Germany’s DAX fell 0.11%.
- France’s CAC 40 fell 1.03%.
- The UK’s FTSE 100 index fell 0.02%.
- European stocks fell as investors assessed economic data and forecast further ECB rate cuts to support struggling economies.
Raw materials at 5:30 a.m. (ET)
- WTI crude was up 1.31% at $72.67 a barrel, and Brent gained 1.19% to $75.49 a barrel.
- Oil prices rose slightly as markets opened for 2025, boosted by China’s commitment to growth and manufacturing data. Investors are monitoring geopolitical risks, U.S. economic data and oil stocks, while forecasts suggest prices could remain under pressure due to weak demand and rising global supplies.
- Natural gas gained 1.05% to $3.668.
- Gold was up 0.68% at $2,657.86, silver rose 2.05% to $29.835 and copper lost 0.45% to $4.0083.
US futures at 5:30 a.m. (ET)
Dow futures rose 0.46%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.57% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.75%.
Forex at 5:30 a.m. (ET)
- The US dollar index rose 0.42% to 108.58, the US dollar fell 0.22% to settle at 156.90, and the US dollar lost 0.43% to settle at 1.6080.
- On Thursday, the US dollar fell slightly but remained near its highest level in two years, supported by the Fed’s stance and the lack of clarity on the Trump administration’s economic policies.
Photo de Steve Heap via Shutterstock
