US stocks gained in light trading on the penultimate trading day of 2023.
Investors widely expect that the US Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates and will most likely shift to rate cuts in 2024.
As of 10:37 am Eastern time, the S&P 500 rose 0.2 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 75 points, or 0.2 per cent. The Nasdaq composite was up 0.3 per cent.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 5.00 points, or 0.01 per cent, at the open to 37,661.52. The S&P 500 opened higher by 4.86 points, or 0.10 per cent, at 4,786.44. The Nasdaq Composite gained 42.92 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 15,142.10 at the opening bell.
The dollar index was hovering near a five-month low and was heading for a yearly decline.
The benchmark 10-year bond yields rose, but were near their lowest levels since July. The yield on the 10-year treasury rose to 3.82% from 3.79 late Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.21 per cent, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were flat.
In Europe, stocks were mixed on Thursday.
Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.1 per cent to 7,735.63. Germany’s DAX lost 0.2 per cent at 16,710.05. France’s CAC 40 edged down 0.5 per cent at 7,537.65.
Asian stock markets largely closed higher on Thursday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged up 2.5 per cent at 17,043.53. China’s Shanghai Composite added 1.4 per cent at 2,954.70.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.4 per cent to 33,539.62.
South Korea’s Kospi advanced 1.6 per cent to 2,655.28.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.7 per cent to 7,614.30.
Oil prices fell more than 1 per cent on Thursday as worries eased about shipping disruptions along the Red Sea route.
Front-month February Brent crude futures were down $1.02, about 1.3 per cent, at $78.63 a barrel by 1443 GMT, while the more active March contract was down 92 cents, about 1.2 per cent, at $78.62 a barrel.
US WTI crude futures were trading 82 cents, or about 1.1 per cent, lower at $73.29 a barrel.
Gold prices were steady after surging to a more-than-three-week high on Thursday on a weaker US dollar.
Spot gold was steady at $2,072.09 per ounce at 1206 GMT after earlier rising as high as 2,088.29, the most since December 4. US gold futures were down 0.5 per cent at $2,082.20.
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