U.S. stock futures are higher in pre-market trading for Thursday, January 04.The Nasdaq Futures are trading at 6,599.25 for up with +0.22% percent or +14.75 point.The Dow Futures are trading at 24,958.00 for up with +0.32% percent or +73.00 point.The S&P 500 Futures are trading at 2,715.00 for up with +0.15% percent or +4.00 point.
In overnight trading in the Eastern Hemisphere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 are trading at 23,506.33 for up with +3.26% percent or +741.39 point. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng are trading at 30,734.53 for up with +0.57% percent or +173.58 point. China’s Shanghai Composite are trading at 3,385.71 for up with +0.49% percent or +16.60 point. India’s BSE Sensex are trading at 33,897.95 for up with +0.31% percent or +104.57 point at 12:15 PM.The FTSE 100 are trading at 7,677.44 for up with +0.08% percent or +6.33 point. Germany’s DAX are trading at 13,110.61 for up with +1.02% percent or +132.40 point. France’s CAC 40 are trading at 5,377.32 for up with +0.86% percent or +46.05 point. The Stoxx Europe 600 are trading at 392.27 for up with +0.53% percent or +2.05 point.
Thursday’s Factors and Events
The head of U.S. forces in South Korea warned on Thursday against raising hopes over North Korea’s peace overture amid a war of words between the United States and the reclusive North over its nuclear and missile programmes.
In a New Year address, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he was open to dialogue with U.S. ally South Korea and could send a delegation to the Winter Olympics to be held in the South in February.
In response, Seoul on Tuesday proposed high-level talks at a border village and on Wednesday, the two Koreas reopened a border hotline that had been closed since February 2016.
Wednesday’s Activity
U.S. market were higher on Wednesday. For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 24,922.68 for up with +0.40% percent or +98.67 point. The S&P 500 closed at 2,713.06 for up with +0.64% percent or +17.25 point. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 7,065.53 for up with +0.84% percent or +58.63 point.
Other leading market index closes included the small-cap Russell 2000 Index closed at 1,552.58 for up with +0.17% percent or +2.56 point; the S&P 600 Small-Cap Index closed at 943.24 for up with +0.03% percent or +0.27 point; the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index closed at 1,923.36 for up with +0.31% percent or +6.00 point; the S&P 100 Index closed at 1,200.74 for up with +0.60% percent or +7.19 point; the Russell 3000 Index closed at 1,605.19 for up with +1.42% percent or +22.42 point; the Russell 1000 Index closed at 1,503.17 for up with +0.62% percent or +9.24 point; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index closed at 24,922.68 for up with +0.40% percent or +98.67 point.