US stock futures face a downward trajectory, signaling a challenging start to 2024 after a successful year that nearly took the S&P 500 to a new record.
S&P 500 futures (^GSPC) saw a 0.6% drop, accompanied by a 0.5% drop, equivalent to approximately 180 points, for Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) futures. Additionally, contracts associated with the Nasdaq 100 (^NDX) saw a 0.9% decline.
The bullish momentum seen in stocks over the last two months of 2023 slowed on Friday. Despite closing the year with solid gains, the S&P 500 notched its ninth consecutive weekly win, a feat not seen since 2004, coming close to surpassing its all-time closing high of 4,796.56.
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The technology sector faced setbacks when Barclays analysts downgraded Apple shares, expressing apprehensions about demand for new iPhones. Consequently, Apple (AAPL) stock saw a 1.7% drop, contributing to the overall decline in tech stocks.
Investors are closely monitoring this week’s economic updates, with particular attention to the December jobs report scheduled for Friday. This report is expected to influence the Federal Reserve’s decisions as market participants rely on quick and substantial interest rate cuts in 2024.
On the geopolitical front, tensions rose when Iran deployed a warship to the Red Sea in response to the US Navy’s actions against three Houthi ships over the weekend. Oil prices responded with a rise of more than 2%, with West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil (CL=F) and Brent Crude Oil (BZ=F) futures seeing gains.
In the cryptocurrency space, bitcoin prices rose more than 3%, surpassing the $45,000 mark for the first time since early 2022. This rally is attributed to growing optimism surrounding the possible approval of a spot bitcoin ETF by the SEC. In pre-market trading, cryptocurrency stocks including Marathon Digital (MARA) also rebounded with an increase of nearly 12%, recovering from recent losses.
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