Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on the last day of trading for the year on Dec. 31, 2024 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
U.S. stock futures traded near the flatline on Monday night after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite notched a second winning day.
S&P 500 futures were little changed, while Nasdaq 100 futures were up by less than 0.1%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 35 points, or less than 0.1%.
In after-hours action, shares of Ulta Beauty rose about 1% after the company named a new CEO and hiked its fourth-quarter guidance.
During the regular session, the broader S&P 500 benchmark added 0.55%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.24%. The 30-stock Dow underperformed, slipping 0.06%.
Monday’s advances for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were propelled by a surge in chip stocks after Foxconn reported record fourth-quarter revenue. Artificial intelligence darling Nvidia closed at a record, while the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) added more than 3%.
Another catalyst for stocks was a report by the Washington Post that said President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff plan would be narrower than previously expected. Trump later disputed the report in a Truth Social post.
Investors should expect further market volatility as the year progresses, according to Cameron Dawson, chief investment officer at NewEdge Wealth.
“That is our base case, this idea that you’re going into 2025 with such a higher bar that it sets up for some choppy price action when you consider the valuations that we’re starting the year with, where positioning is and where most expectations are,” she said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” Monday afternoon.
Major economic reports that will shape the market’s action loom ahead this week. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey is due on Tuesday, while the ADP private payrolls report is slated for Wednesday. The main event awaits on Friday in the form of December’s nonfarm payrolls report.
It is a four-day trading week, with the New York Stock Exchange closed on Thursday in honor of the late former President Jimmy Carter.
