U.S. stock futures are higher in pre-market trading for Thursday, January 18.The Nasdaq Futures are trading at 7,298.28 for up with +1.03% percent or +74.59 point. The S&P 500 Futures are trading at 2,802.56 for up with +0.94% percent or +26.14 point. The Dow Futures are trading at 26,115.70 for up with +1.25% percent or +322.79 point.
In overnight trading in the Eastern Hemisphere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 are trading at 23,763.37 with a loss of -0.44% percent or -104.97 point. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng are trading at 32,121.94 for up with +0.43% percent or +138.53 point. China’s Shanghai Composite are trading at 3,474.75 for up with +0.87% percent or +30.08 point. India’s BSE Sensex are trading at 35,477.07 for up with +1.13% percent or +395.25 point at 12:15 PM.The FTSE 100 are trading at 7,693.24 with a loss of -0.42% percent or -32.19 point. Germany’s DAX are trading at 13,241.44 for up with +0.44% percent or +57.48 point. France’s CAC 40 are trading at 5,504.13 for up with +0.18% percent or +10.15 point. The Stoxx Europe 600 are trading at 398.32 for up with +0.09% percent or +0.39 point.
Thursday’s Factors and Events
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday approved a proposal from No. 2 U.S. stock exchange operator Cboe Global Markets Inc to compete for end-of-day orders for stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Inc.
The approval breaks what has effectively been a duopoly on the stock market close, one of the busiest and most lucrative trading periods of the day, by the Intercontinental Exchange Inc-owned NYSE and Nasdaq.
Closing auctions attract trillions of dollars’ worth of trades as fund managers generally price their assets to the closing prices of listing exchanges and execute most of their orders at that time.
Wednesday’s Activity
U.S. market were higher on Wednesday. For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 26,115.65 for up with +1.25% percent or +322.79 point. The S&P 500 closed at 2,802.56 for up with +0.94% percent or +26.14 point. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 7,298.28 for up with +1.03% percent or +74.59 point.
Other leading market index closes included the small-cap Russell 2000 Index closed at 1,586.66 for up with +0.87%percent or +13.69 point; the S&P 600 Small-Cap Index closed at 969.31 for up with +0.96% percent or +9.19 point; the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index closed at 1,965.93 for up with +0.71% percent or +13.86 point; the S&P 100 Index closed at 1,243.38 for up with +0.94% percent or +11.59 point; the Russell 3000 Index closed at 1,654.99 for up with +0.92% percent or +15.13 point; the Russell 1000 Index closed at 1,550.92 for up with +0.93% percent or +14.24 point; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index closed at 26,115.65 for up with +1.25% percent or +322.79 point.