After a sharp sell-off on Wall Street last week, market participants will witness sparse economic data in the holiday-shortened week ahead.
No major events are scheduled in the week.
The sell-off thwarted the seasonal Santa Claus rally, in which stocks rise on the last five sessions of December and the first two sessions of January.
The expected economic data include pending home sales for November, purchasing managers’ data from the Institute of Supply Management and the S&P Global for December.
Economic calendar
On December 30 (Monday), separate reports on Chicago Business Barometer (PMI) for December and pending home sales for November will be released.
On December 31 (Tuesday), a report on S&P Case-Shiller home price index (20 cities) for November will be released.
January 1 (Wednesday) is New Year’s holiday.
On January 2 (Thursday), separate reports on S&P Global PMI manufacturing for December and construction spending for November will be released.
On January 3 (Friday), a report on ISM manufacturing for December will be released.
Markets last week
US stock indices fell broadly on Friday as the ‘Magnificent 7’ weighs down the market.
The Dow fell 333.59 points, or 0.77 per cent, to 42,992.21. The S&P 500 lost 66.75 points, or 1.11 per cent, to end at 5,970.84 points, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 298.33 points, or 1.49 per cent, to end at 19,722.03.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.62 per cent from 4.59 per cent. The yield on the 2-year Treasury remained at 4.33 per cent.
Oil prices settled more than 1 per cent higher on Friday.
Brent crude futures rose 91 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to settle at $74.17 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 98 cents, or 1.4 per cent, to $70.60 per barrel.
Gold prices slipped on Friday on elevated US Treasury yields.
Spot gold fell 0.6 per cent to $2,619.33 per ounce. US gold futures settled 0.8 per cent lower at $2,631.90.
Spot silver fell 1.3 per cent to $29.41 per ounce.
