U.S. Stocks May Show A Lack Of Direction In Early Trading

After ending the previous session mostly higher, stocks may show a lack of direction in early trading on Wednesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by less than a tenth of a percent.

Traders may be reluctant to continue buying stocks following the recent strength in the markets, which lifted the Nasdaq and S&P 500 to their best closing levels in almost two years on Tuesday.

While market sentiment generally remains positive amid expectations of near-term interest rates cuts, traders may wait for additional catalysts before pushing stocks meaningfully higher.

A lack of major U.S. economic data may also keep some traders on the sidelines amid a relatively quiet week on the U.S. economic front.

Reports on weekly jobless claims and pending home sales may attract some attention on Thursday, although trading activity is likely to remain subdued ahead of the New Year’s weekend.

Stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday, with the major averages all moving to the upside after ending last Friday’s session narrowly mixed. The advance on the day represents a positive start to the final trading week of 2023.

The major averages pulled back off their best levels going into the close but remained in positive territory. The Dow rose 159.36 points or 0.4 percent to 37,545.33, the Nasdaq advanced 81.60 points or 0.5 percent to 15,074.57 and the S&P 500 climbed 20.12 points or 0.4 percent to 4,774.75.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.1 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged by 1.7 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has climbed by 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.3 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.2 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are falling $0.80 to…