US stock futures steady after tech gains buoy Wall St; focus turns to jobs data

U.S. stock index futures were largely steady on Sunday evening after Wall Street ended sharply higher last week boosted by technology stocks, while investors awaited crucial jobs data due later next week.

S&P 500 Futures were largely steady at 5,991.00 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures inched up 0.1% to 21,529.75 points by 19:15 ET (00:15 GMT). Dow Jones Futures were largely unchanged at 43,028.0 points.

Markets will see another shortened week of trading as the New York Stock Exchange will be closed on Thursday to honor the passing of former President Jimmy Carter.

Markets await Fed meeting minutes, jobs data for fresh rate outlook clues
Minutes for the Federal Reserve’s Dec 17-18 meeting are due on Wednesday and Fed speakers will include Thomas Barkin, Jeffrey Schmid and Patrick Harker.

This could help markets further gauge the Fed’s interest rate outlook, where it has signaled fewer rate cuts this year in the face of sticky inflation, and a resilient economy.

December jobs report is due on Friday. The employment data is expected to show that the U.S. economy added 154,000 jobs in December, while the unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 4.2%.

The U.S. has a packed economic calendar for the week starting starting Dec. 6, featuring the December ISM services PMI, final S&P Global PMIs, ADP employment data, JOLTS job openings, November factory orders and trade figures, and weekly jobless claims.

Tech stocks jump after falling at year-end; lead Wall St higher
Tech stocks rebounded on Friday from the losses in the last week of 2024. Investors had capitalized on the strong yearly gains at December end, which typically sees positive movements due to the “Santa Rally”.

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On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8% to 42,732.13, the S&P 500 gained 1.3% to 5,942.47 points, while the NASDAQ Composite gained 1.8% to 19,621.68 points.

Among “Magnificent Seven” megacaps, market darling NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) jumped 4.5%, while Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares more than 8% on Friday.

Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) also ended higher, while Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) shares gained 2%.

“In 2025, we expect the S&P 500 will return 11%, rising to 6500 by year-end. Earnings growth will be the main driver of returns,” Goldman Sachs analyst said in a recent note.