U.S. stock futures are poised for a slightly higher opening on Tuesday, indicating potential continuation of the gains observed in the past two sessions. This momentum is partly fueled by a further rise in Nvidia (NVDA) shares, which are up by 2.2% in pre-market trading following a 3.4% surge to an all-time high on Monday. At the CES event in Las Vegas, Nvidia introduced its latest consumer GPU range, the GeForce RTX 50 Series, designed for both desktop and laptop systems.
However, early trading enthusiasm may be restrained as investors anticipate pivotal U.S. economic reports due later this week. Expected on Friday is the Labor Department's monthly jobs report, projected to show a December increase of 160,000 new jobs, down from November’s 227,000. Additionally, reports concerning private sector employment, consumer sentiment, and the Federal Reserve's latest meeting minutes are likely to garner significant attention.
On Monday, stocks initially showed strong upward movement but retreated throughout the day. Despite the pullback, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 managed to close in positive territory. The Nasdaq climbed by 243.30 points, or 1.2%, to 19,864.90, and the S&P 500 rose by 32.91 points, or 0.6%, closing at 5,975.38. Conversely, the Dow experienced a slight decline of 25.57 points, or 0.1%, ending at 42,706.56.
The earlier rally was partly driven by robust performances in technology stocks following Foxconn's report of record fourth-quarter revenue amid substantial AI server demand. As Nvidia's assembly partner, Foxconn's earnings bolstered Nvidia's stock, which saw significant gains. Similarly, chipmaker Micron (MU) experienced a remarkable 10.5% surge.
Initial buying interest was further stimulated by a Washington Post report suggesting that President-elect Donald Trump might moderate his tariff plans. While Trump had previously proposed broad tariffs of 10-20% on all imports to the U.S., the report suggested his team may consider applying tariffs solely on essential imports from all countries.
Despite dwindling purchasing interest as the session progressed, largely due to Trump's dismissal of the report as "fake news," the airline sector retained significant strength, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 3.7%. Notably, American Airlines (AAL) saw notable gains after TD Cowen upgraded its rating to Buy from Hold.
The trading session also observed notable advancements in the computer hardware and semiconductor sectors, reflected in the 3.6% rise of the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index and a 2.8% increase in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Additionally, steel and networking stocks demonstrated strength, while commercial real estate and utilities stocks faced downward pressure due to their sensitivity to interest rates.
**Commodity and Currency Markets**
In commodities, crude oil futures have risen by $0.43, reaching $73.99 per barrel, bouncing back from a $0.40 decline to $73.56 on Monday. Gold futures have increased by $27.40, reaching $2,674.80 an ounce, following a $7.30 drop to $2,647.40 an ounce in the previous session.
In currency markets, the U.S. dollar is trading at 157.64 yen, slightly up from Monday’s closing rate of 157.62 yen in New York, and is valued at $1.0398 against the euro, compared to $1.0390 previously.
**Asia**
Asian markets presented mixed results on Tuesday, as U.S.-China tensions and concerns regarding the yuan were tempered by growing optimism around chip stocks. The dollar dipped towards a one-week low in Asian trading amid ongoing speculation regarding Trump’s tariff strategies. Gold prices inched up, whereas oil prices extended losses, countered by fears over Russian and Iranian supply constraints due to sanctions.
In China, the Shanghai Composite Index advanced by 0.7% to 3,229.64, recovering from early losses after the U.S. placed Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. on a blacklist due to purported military links. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined by 1.2% to 19,447.58 amid trade-related pressures on tech stocks, with Tencent Holdings dropping 7.3% and Alibaba falling 0.9%.
Japanese stocks led regional gains, as a weaker yen buoyed export-driven stocks and sparked a rally in tech shares. Tokyo Electron surged by 11.3% and SoftBank rose by 1.2%, stimulated by Nvidia’s unveiling of the GeForce RTX 50 Series GPU lineup.Asian markets showed a notable uptick, with Japan's Nikkei 225 Index climbing 2.0% to reach 40,083.30 and the Topix Index rising by 1.1% to close at 2,786.57. In Seoul, the Kospi Index experienced a modest gain, closing 0.1% higher at 2,492.10. However, notable declines were seen in major tech giants, as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell by 0.9% and 2.4% respectively, following their exclusion from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's keynote at CES.
In Australia, markets posted minor advances led by gold and tech stocks, while mining shares continued their downward trend from the previous session. The S&P/ASX 200 Index saw a 0.3% increase to 8,285.10, achieving a fourth consecutive day of gains, mirroring the All Ordinaries Index, which settled up 0.3% at 8,542.90. Conversely, New Zealand's S&P/NZX-50 Index dipped slightly, closing 0.2% lower at 13,042.06.
In Europe, stock performances varied on Tuesday, following a significant surge the day before amid speculation about the American administration revisiting tariff strategies. However, subsequent remarks by President-elect Donald Trump dismissing these reports as "fake news" heightened market uncertainties. The UK’s FTSE 100 Index was down by 0.1%, while Germany's DAX Index and France's CAC 40 Index rose by 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively.
Economic data released showed Eurozone inflation climbing to its highest in five months, largely due to increased service costs. Eurostat indicated a rise in the harmonized consumer price index, which hit 2.4% in December compared to 2.2% in November, aligning with economists' forecasts. Meanwhile, UK housing prices unexpectedly fell by 0.2% in December, per Halifax's report, contrasting with a 1.2% increase in November. Among corporate updates, shares of Sodexo SA declined in Paris as its first-quarter organic revenue growth of nearly 5% fell short of expectations. In contrast, Next Plc experienced a surge in share price following robust Christmas sales and an upbeat profit outlook for 2025.
In the United States, the Commerce Department reported that the trade deficit expanded in November, aligning closely with economists' predictions. The deficit rose to $78.2 billion from October's adjusted figure of $73.6 billion, driven by a 3.4% increase in import value to $351.6 billion, with exports also rising by 2.7% to $273.4 billion. Additionally, the Institute for Supply Management was scheduled to publish its December report on service sector activity, with expectations of a slight rise in their services PMI from 52.1 in November to 53.0. The Labor Department planned to release November job openings data, forecasted to dip slightly to 7.70 million from 7.74 million in October. Furthermore, at 1 pm ET, the Treasury Department was set to disclose the results of its auction of $39 billion in ten-year notes.
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