U.S. Market Flat, Global Indices Retreat, This Is The Final Trading Day Of 2019
The U.S. Futures Are Flat In Early Trading
The U.S. futures are indicating a flat to a slightly lower open on the final trading day of the year. Despite the early weakness, the S&P 500 is on track to post a gain of nearly 30% for the year and its best performance in several years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and NASDAQ Composite are all trading down about -0.1% in the early pre-market session.
In terms of individual stocks, Apple and Microsoft are responsible for most of this year’s market advance. Apple is up nearly 85% for the year, Microsoft trails with a gain of 55%.
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Today’s move follows a Tweet from President Trump condemning Iranian actions in Iraq. The President says Iran is responsible for the death of an American contractor and will be held fully accountable. In trade news, Chinese media reports that Vice Premier Liu He could travel to Washington to sign the Phase One Trade Deal as early as this week. Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro says the deal is in the bank.
EU Markets Move Lower In Thin Holiday Trading
The EU markets closed lower on Tuesday in thin holiday trading. The FTSE 100 led the move lower with a loss of -0.59% while the French CAC closed just above break-even. Other markets in the region, Germany Switzerland and Italy, were closed for the New Year holiday.
The news of the day is about embattled auto-exec Carlos Ghosn. Ghosn, formerly CEO of Nissan and Renault, has fled to his homeland of Lebanon in an attempt to escape justice in Japanese courts. It is unclear how Ghosn was able to escape the country as his passports are still in the possession of legal officials.
Asian Markets Move Lower, China PMI Beats Consensus
Indices in Asia closed mostly lower on the last trading day of the year. The Australian ASX led the decline with a loss of -1.78% with notable weakness among the Big Four banks. The Nikkei posted the second-largest loss, about -0.75%, while the Hang Seng and Kospi both shed smaller amounts.
In stock news, Tencent and Alibaba were the biggest losers with declines of -1.98% and -1.60% respectively. On the economic front, Chinese PMI came in at 50.2 and a tenth hotter than expected. The reading shows expansion and acceleration within the Chinese economy however small.