Investing.com — U.S. stock index futures fell on Wednesday night, pointing to 2025 after a combination of artificial intelligence hype and lower interest rates led to big stock market gains over the past year. It was a cautious start.
However, these gains slowed toward the end of 2024, as the so-called “Santa Rally” hardly materialized in late December. Investors locked in recent gains on concerns about a slowing pace of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and uncertainty over President-elect Donald Trump’s policies.
By 7:13 p.m. ET (12:13 p.m. Japan time), it was down 0.1% to 5,927.25 points and down 0.1% to 21,213.50 points. It fell 0.2% to 42,809.0 points.
Trading volumes remain low due to the year-end holidays and are expected to recover only next week.
Sentiment was also shaken by the car attack in New Orleans that killed at least 15 people and the explosion of a Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:) Cybertruck in front of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas.
Wall Street lags behind last trading day of 2024
Wall Street indexes continued their impressive rally through 2024, but this momentum nearly stalled on the last trading day of 2024, with benchmark indexes posting flat to weak performance in December.
It closed 0.4% lower on Tuesday at 5,881.60 points, while it fell 0.9% to 19,310.79 points. It fell 0.1% to 42,544.22 points, with all three indexes falling for at least the third day in a row.
However, it still rose significantly towards 2024. The Nasdaq rose 28.6%, benefiting most from the rise in technology stocks fueled by AI. In 2024, the S&P 500 rose 23.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 12.9%.
Trump policy focuses on Fed rate cuts in 2025
President Trump will take office in the second half of January, so economic and international policy will be his main focus next month.
President Trump has vowed to pursue primarily expansionary policies, but he has also promised to impose steep trade tariffs on major U.S. trading partners such as China, Canada and Mexico.
Uncertainty surrounding President Trump’s policies has made investors cautious in recent weeks, with some profit-taking after an initial rebound on Wall Street following Trump’s election victory in early November. caused.
Investors are also concerned that President Trump’s policies could keep inflation high for longer and lead to fewer rate cuts by the Fed.
The central bank recently signaled it may slow the pace of rate cuts in 2025, citing concerns about persistently high inflation and a strong labor market.
The Fed’s comments triggered a prolonged selloff on Wall Street and were a major factor in December’s losses.
