U.S. stock futures were steady in overnight trading on Monday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 notched new record closes on the first trading day of 2022.
Dow futures fell just 20 points. S&P 500 futures slid 0.05% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.05%.
On Monday, the major averages rose, lifted by the technology sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 246 points to close at a record. The S&P 500 also registered a gain, climbing 0.6% to close at an all-time high.
The Nasdaq Composite was the relative outperformer, gaining 1.2% as Meta Platforms, Amazon and Google-parent Alphabet all closed in the green.
Tesla and Apple were bright spots of the trading day Monday. Tesla added 13.5% after the firm beat fourth-quarter and full-year delivery expectations. Apple became the first ever $3 trillion market capitalization company after rising 2.5% to a new record.
Reopening plays like airlines and cruise lines also rose on Monday. A jump in bond yields lifted bank stocks.
“Optimism on global economic growth and earnings momentum reviving since mid-December continued to grow in the first day of the New Year,” said Jim Paulsen, Leuthold Group chief investment strategist. “Those stocks most closely tied to better economic growth did the best [Monday] but were joined by new-era sectors including technology and communications.”
On Tuesday, November’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey will be released at 10:00 a.m. The JOLTS report is closely watched at the Federal Reserve and elsewhere for signs of labor market tightness.
December’s ISM manufacturing PMI is also set to release Tuesday morning.
Monday’s records moves come after markets closed out a strong 2021 last week. The S&P 500 rose nearly 27% for the year, with the Nasdaq Composite and Dow also posting strong gains.
“The well-known Santa Claus Rally ends on Tuesday. The good news is stocks look like they’ll be higher during these bullish 7 days,” said Ryan Detrick of LPL Financial. “It is when these days have been down when we need to worry, so that’s one less worry at least.”
