With the robust gains of 2023 in the rear view mirror, Wall Street was poised to open with losses on the first trading day of 2024. Futures for the S&P 500 lost 0.8% before the bell Tuesday, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.6%.
Quick Read
- Negative Opening for Wall Street in 2024: Wall Street was set to open with losses on the first trading day of 2024. S&P 500 futures dropped by 0.8%, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures declined by 0.6% before the opening bell on Tuesday.
- Anticipation for Employment Data: This week, key employment data will be released, including the November job openings on Wednesday, weekly jobless claims on Thursday, and the important December jobs report on Friday.
- Recent Stock Market Performance: Stock prices on Wall Street fell on the previous Friday from near all-time highs, influenced by factors such as easing inflation, a strong economy, and expectations of lower interest rates.
- Asian Markets’ Decline: Hong Kong’s benchmark index dropped by more than 1%, and Shanghai’s index also declined. This downward trend was due to weak data from China’s manufacturing and property sectors.
- Specific Market Movements: The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong decreased by 1.6% and the Shanghai Composite index by 0.4%. Property developers like China Evergrande and LongFor Group Holding saw significant losses.
- China’s Economic Indicators: The official purchasing managers index (PMI) in China remained weak at 49 for the third consecutive month. However, the Caixin private-sector survey showed slight improvement in manufacturing PMI, though business confidence for 2024 was subdued.
- Decline in China’s Property Sector: New home sales by China’s top 100 developers fell nearly 35% year-over-year in December, despite regulatory efforts to stimulate the market.
- Other Asian Markets: South Korea’s Kospi rose by 0.6%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 increased by 0.5%. Bangkok’s SET index also saw gains, while Mumbai’s Sensex experienced a decline.
- European Market Midday Status: As of midday, Germany’s DAX, London’s FTSE, and Paris’s CAC 40 each saw a drop of 0.5% to 0.8%.
- Commodities and Currency Trading: U.S. crude oil and Brent crude prices rose in electronic trading. The U.S. dollar strengthened against the Japanese yen, while the euro declined. Bitcoin reached its highest level since April 2022.
- Recent Performance of Major Indexes: Despite the S&P 500’s slight decrease on the previous Friday, it was close to an all-time high set in January 2022, after nine consecutive weeks of gains. The Dow Jones and Nasdaq also experienced slight declines.
The Associated Press has the story:
Wall Street heads lower on the first trading day of 2024
Newslooks- NEW YORK (AP)
With the robust gains of 2023 in the rear view mirror, Wall Street was poised to open with losses on the first trading day of 2024. Futures for the S&P 500 lost 0.8% before the bell Tuesday, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.6%.
Investors and economists will get a trove of employment data this week, with the government reporting on November job openings Wednesday, weekly jobless claims Thursday and the closely-watched December jobs report on Friday.
Stocks fell Friday on Wall Street from their near all-time highs amid easing inflation, a resilient economy and the prospect of lower interest rates which buoyed investors.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s benchmark fell more than 1% and Shanghai also declined after data showed more signs of weakness in the Chinese manufacturing and property sectors.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong sank 1.6% to 16,784.00 and the Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.4% to 2,962.28.
Investors were selling property developers like debt-laden China Evergrande, which fell 6%, and LongFor Group Holding, which lost 6.9%. Sino-Ocean Holding declined 4.6%.
The December survey of the official purchasing managers index, or PMI, in China fell to 49 for the third consecutive month, signaling weak demand and underscoring the challenging economic conditions in the world’s second-largest economy.
That contrasted private-sector survey, by financial publication Caixin, which registered a slight improvement in the manufacturing PMI to 50.8, driven by increased output and new orders. However, it showed that business confidence for 2024 remained subdued.
The latest data also showed that the value of new home sales by China’s top 100 developers fell nearly 35% from a year earlier in December despite moves by regulators to lift limits on such transactions.
South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.6% to 2,669.81 and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia rose 0.5% to 7,627.80.
Bangkok’s SET added 1.2% while the Sensex in Mumbai lost 0.5%.
Japan’s markets were closed for a holiday.
In Europe at midday, Germany’s DAX and the FTSE in London each slid 0.5% while the CAC 40 in Paris tumbled 0.8%.
In other trading, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained $1.66 to $73.31 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, added $1.52 to $78.56 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 142.11 Japanese yen from 140.88 yen. The euro fell to $1.0958 from $1.1047.
Bitcoin climbed to $45,441, its highest level since April of 2022.
On Friday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.3%. The benchmark index still posted a rare ninth consecutive week of gains and is just 0.6% shy of an all-time high set in January of 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.6%.
