Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on the first day of trading of the new year on Jan. 2, 2025.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
Stock futures rose Monday as investors looked ahead to jobs data in another shortened trading week.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 were up 0.7%. Nasdaq-100 futures advanced 1%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 131 points, or 0.3%.
Chip stocks led the early gain after Foxconn announced record fourth-quarter revenue. Nvidia and Broadcom rose 2% each, while Micron Technology advanced 4.3%.
Investors are entering another shortened trading week – which will wrap the next of the first five January trading days – on a wobbly note and with lingering concerns about the Federal Reserve’s interest rate projections. The New York Stock Exchange will be closed Thursday to mourn the death of former President Jimmy Carter.
Traders will be looking for clues about the strength of the economy and the sturdiness of Fed rate plans. Callie Cox, chief market strategist at Ritholtz Wealth Management, said the week ahead could be another opportunity for traders to recalibrate their expectations.
“Data shows us that unemployment is climbing and people are having a hard time finding jobs. There are cracks in hiring that could re-appear at any time,” she told CNBC. “It’ll be important to watch yields too. The 10-year yield is near a high of 4.6%, and jobs days have rattled bond investors in the past.”
The December jobs report is due out Friday, and will be one of the last key pieces of data before the Fed meeting at the end of this month. Investors are also watching the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) Tuesday and December ADP Employment Survey Wednesday.
“It’s clear that both individual investors and Wall Street have high hopes for 2025,” Cox said. “Americans are unusually confident, CEOs are upbeat and profit growth is expected to be the strongest in years.”
“This is a decent environment for the stock market … But after two years of 20%+ gains, we may be a little spoiled,” she added. “High expectations are going to be a clear, recurring theme of 2025, and we may get our first taste of disappointment as data starts rolling in.”
Constellation Brands, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Delta Air Lines will also report earnings toward the end of the week.
On Friday, the major indexes closed higher on the day to cap a shaky week as a “Santa Claus rally” failed to materialize. The Dow ended higher by 0.8%. The S&P 500 rose 1.26%. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.77%. Each of them still posted a losing week.
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