US Stocks Rise as 2024 Nears End; Dollar Gains: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — US stocks climbed, putting them on track to snap three days of losses and build on this year’s powerful Wall Street rally in the final session of 2024.

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The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 opened higher, signaling a partial rebound from Monday’s declines of more than 1%. Treasuries held onto small gains. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose, on course for its best year since 2015 in a rally fueled by Trump’s reelection in November and the Federal Reserve’s less dovish policy pivot.

Investors have much to ponder going into 2025. Some are concerned about the stamina of the S&P 500’s 24% rally, driven by the so-called Magnificent Seven cohort of tech giants. There’s also a range of uncertainties to confront next year, from President-elect Donald Trump’s protectionist policies to the outlook for central bank policy and the health of the European and Chinese economies.

“Investors are in wait-and-see mode,” Noel Dixon, senior macro strategist at State Street Corp., told Bloomberg Television. “We don’t know what the retaliatory effects are going to be and how the Fed is ultimately going to react to those tariffs.”

Elsewhere, European trading was muted, with several markets shut on New Year’s Eve and shortened sessions in London and Paris.

In Asia, trading was thin because several regional markets including South Korea’s were shut for a public holiday. Japanese markets are closed through Jan. 6. Stocks fell in Australia and mainland China, with those in Hong Kong flat.

Chinese equities shrugged off data that pointed to an improvement in both services and manufacturing activity. Investors also showed little reaction to President Xi Jinping’s remark that China’s 2024 economic growth is expected to be around 5%, a target set by policymakers earlier in the year.

Meanwhile, in the latest sign of simmering tensions between Beijing and Washington, the US Treasury Department said it was hacked by a Chinese state-sponsored actor through a third-party software service provider.

As for commodities, gold ticked higher, set for one of its biggest annual gains this century after advancing 27%. Oil prices steadied in thin holiday trading, heading for a modest annual decline as the market braces for a global surplus in 2025.

European natural gas prices rose in anticipation of a halt in Russian flows via Ukraine on New Year’s Day, as a transit agreement between the two nations expires.

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