(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures slipped in light trading volumes on Monday as elevated Treasury yields threatened to pressure a historically strong year-end period for equities.
At 05:36 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 78 points, or 0.18%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 12.75 points, or 0.21%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 43.75 points, or 0.20%.
Equities tend to do well in the last five trading days of December and into the first two days of January, a phenomenon dubbed the Santa Claus rally. The S&P 500 has gained 1.3% on average during the period since 1969, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac.
The benchmark index eked out marginal gains last week, with analysts pointing to a strong run earlier in the year that sent valuations soaring. The index has been trading in a bull market for over two years and is poised to end its second consecutive year with gains of more than 20%.
Much of this year’s rally was fueled by optimism around interest rate cuts, artificial intelligence integration boosting corporate profitability and on expectations that President-elect Donald Trump’s policies could spur economic growth.
However, some analysts expect Trump’s policies to be inflationary, with yields on U.S. Treasury notes across the curve pinned at multi-month highs. [US/]
Since early December, the yield on the benchmark 10-year note has risen to touch its highest level since May 2024. On the day, it was slightly lower.
Investors tempered their expectations on the total number of interest rate cuts by the Fed in 2025 after the institution struck a cautious tone at its meeting earlier in the month.
They now expect the central bank to deliver its first rate reduction in May next year, according to the CME Group’s (NASDAQ:CME) FedWatch Tool.
Later in the week, investors will scrutinize the Institute of Supply Management’s manufacturing activity survey for December and a weekly report on jobless claims, ahead of a key employment report due in the following week.
Growth stocks weakened in premarket trading. Tesla (O:TSLA) dropped 1.6%, Meta (NASDAQ:META) dipped 0.5%, while chip company Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) lost 0.6% and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) slipped 0.8%.
South Korea ordered an emergency safety inspection of its entire airline operation system after the country’s worst air disaster over the weekend involving a Boeing (NYSE:BA) plane. Boeing’s shares were down 4.5%.
Trading is expected to be impacted by thin volumes in the run up to the New Year holiday on Wednesday and is likely to remain subdued until Jan. 6.