US and European stock markets continued to limp into the end of the year with the Santa rally largely passing by major bourses.
The major US indices were down about 0.7% in afternoon trading, with declines in the likes of Tesla, Intel Corp and Broadcom weighing on the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
Banks including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase were among decliners on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, as was Boeing, which fell 2% as South Korea ordered an emergency safety inspection of its airline operation system after its worst air disaster on the weekend.
Still, the Nasdaq is up 30% this year with the Magnificent Seven driving the bourse higher, with chipmaker Nvidia’s 183% surge the standout.
Similarly, markets were weaker across the Atlantic in Monday trading, with Germany’s DAX slipping 0.4% in its final day of trading of the year to end 2024 up 19% and notching up the strongest performance in Europe.
The UK’s FTSE 100 snapped a three-day rally as mining companies declined as the gold price slipped 0.5%.
Southern view
That softness in Northern Hemisphere trading is pointing to a weak final day in the antipodes, with futures indicating a 0.3% decline in shortened trading.
In saying that, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index shrugged off similar indications yesterday when a late surge in Contact Energy helped drag the index higher in its fifth straight gain.
New Zealand’s benchmark index is heading for a near-13% gain this year, which would be its biggest increase since 2020.
Trading is expected to remain relatively thin until Jan 6 as the New Year holidays disrupt regular trading, and US stock markets will close on Jan 9 to mark the national day of mourning for former President Jimmy Carter, who died on Sunday.
The kiwi dollar was marginally softer against the greenback, trading at 56.42 US cents at 7am in Auckland from 56.56 cents yesterday, and was unchanged at 90.64 Australian cents.
Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from fabio Spano on Unsplash.
