Outlook 12/28: U.S. stock futures are near flat Thursday as the benchmark index closed in on a new all-time high. Stocks are now in the middle of a period dubbed the “Santa Claus rally,” which refers to the last five trading days of an ending year and first two of a new one. The SP500 has risen about 1.3% over this time frame on average. Traders will monitor economic data on pending home sales Thursday morning. With just two trading days left, Friday marks the end of the trading week, month, quarter and year. By all measures, stocks are on track for gains. The Dow and SP500 rose more than 13% and 24%, respectively. The Nasdaq has soared 44%, on track for its best year since 2003.
/ESH24 (MAR 2024): YVAH 4828 YPOC 4825 YVAL 4820 GAP 4834.75
/ES Plan: Yesterday market closed balanced, and overnight looks bimodal, moving above previous value, so these're the opening and initial balance options for today:
