Stock futures inch higher after Dow, S&P 500 close at record

U.S. stock index futures inched higher in early morning trading on Thursday after the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at new records.

Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained about 50 points while S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% and Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.2%.

Investors will get their latest look at the employment picture when the Labor Department reports on weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect initial claims to total 205,000 for the week ended Dec. 25, the same total as the prior period. That would keep claims around their lowest level in more than 50 years.

Biogen slid 6.5% in the premarket after Samsung denied a report in The Korea Economic Daily that it was in talks to buy Biogen. Biogen shares had surged 9.5% on Wednesday.

During regular trading Wednesday the S&P 500 advanced 0.14% to its 70th record close of the year. This year has seen the second-highest number of record closes for the benchmark index during a calendar year, trailing just 1995’s 77 record closing highs.

The Dow rose 90 points, or 0.25%, to also close at a record — its first since November. The 30-stock benchmark saw its sixth straight positive session. The Nasdaq Composite, however, declined 0.1%. Chip stocks came under pressure, with AMD, Xilinx and Nvidia all declining at least 1%.

Travel-related stocks also slid amid ongoing Covid-19 concerns, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index dipping 2.5%.

On the flip side, a number of consumer stocks rose to new all-time highs during the session, including Domino’s Pizza, McDonald’s, Yum Brands, Costco and Procter & Gamble.

All three major averages are in the green for December. The S&P and Dow are on pace for a second positive month in the last three, while the Nasdaq Composite is on track for a third straight month of gains.

Wednesday’s upward action for the Dow and S&P continued a historically strong period for stocks, which has been dubbed the “Santa Claus rally.” The S&P 500 has notched a gain during the period — the last five trading days of the year followed by the first two session in January — 78.5% of the time since 1928, according to Bank of America.

“Santa has been good to investors this holiday season, and we look for another year of positive returns in 2022,” said Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

With just two trading days left in 2021, the major averages are also on track to end the year in the green. The S&P and Dow are up 27.6% and 19.2%, respectively. The Nasdaq’s gained 22.3%, while the Russell 2000 is up 13.9%.

“2021 was a terrific year for the equity markets,” said Anu Gaggar, global investment strategist for Commonwealth Financial Network. “Between federal stimulus keeping the economy going, easy monetary policy from the Fed keeping markets liquid and interest rates low, and the ongoing medical improvement leading to surprising growth, markets have been in the best of all possible worlds.”