Brandon McDermid | Reuters
Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 45 points, or 0.1 percent, while S&P 500 futures shed 0.06 percent. Nasdaq-100 futures are hovering near a flat line.
The major averages are headed for year-end record levels, with the S&P 500 and Dow up more than 25% and 14%, respectively, and on track for their best year since 2021. The Nasdaq has gained more than 31%.
Benchmarks are also headed for a fourth winning quarter, with the Nasdaq on pace for its longest quarterly winning streak since the second quarter of 2021.
Investors are hoping stocks will continue to rise through the end of the year and into the new year, triggering what’s known as a Santa Claus rally. This trend refers to the market rise during the last five trading days of the calendar year and the first two days in January. According to LPL Financial, the S&P 500 has returned an average of 1.3% over that period since 1950.
However, some concerns have grown that the market is losing momentum, with the major averages losing sessions on Friday after some year-end profit-taking.
“I think it’s long overdue,” Tevis McCourt, an institutional equity strategist at Raymond James, told CNBC’s Closing Bell on Friday. I’ll be expecting more as January rolls around. We’ve had a lot of momentum in a narrow subset of names over the past month.”
The week begins a light period for economic data, with markets closing on Wednesday for New Year’s Day. Chicago PMI and pending home sales data are due out on Monday.