US PRE MARKET

The S&P 500 Futures are trading at 2,693.50 for up with +0.29% percent or +7.75 point. Other U.S. stock futures are higher in pre-market trading for Friday, December 29. The Dow Futures are trading at 24,845.00 for up with +0.19% percent or +48.00 point. The Nasdaq Futures are trading at 6,457.25 for up  with +0.17% percent or +10.75 point.

FRIDAY’S FACTORS AND EVENTS

U.S. government debt prices were higher on Friday, as investors wave goodbye to the market-moving year that was 2017.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was lower at around 2.428 percent at 5:20 a.m. ET, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was flat at 2.757 percent. Bond yields move inversely to prices.

Trading has been lighter than usual this week as investors get ready for the new year. Consequently, key trends and potential market-moving events will be of key importance to market-watchers from now on, as the final day of trading looms.

In the penultimate session of the year on Thursday, U.S. stocks finished slightly higher with the Dow Jones industrial average securing another record close.

THURSDAY’S ACTIVITY

U.S. market were higher on Thursday. For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 24,837.51 for up with  +0.26% percent or +63.21 point. The S&P 500 closed at 2,687.54 for up with  +0.18% percent or  +4.92 point. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 6,950.16 for up with +00.16% percent or  +10.82 point.

Other leading market index closes included the small-cap Russell 2000 Index closed at 1,548.93  for up with +0.32% percent or +4.99 point; the S&P 600 Small-Cap Index closed at 943.40  for up with +0.39%  percent or +3.69  point; the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index closed at 1,911.28 for up with +0.30% percent or +5.76 point; the S&P 100 Index closed at 1,189.29 for up with +0.13% percent or  +1.59 point; the Russell 3000 Index closed at 1,591.45 for up with  +0.21% percent or +3.29 point; the Russell 1000 Index closed at 1,489.53 for up with +0.20% percent or +2.94 point; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index closed at 24,837.51 for up with +0.26% percent or +63.21 point.

WORLD MARKETS

In overnight trading in the Eastern Hemisphere,Japan’s Nikkei 225 are trading at 22,764.94 with a loss of -0.08% percent or  -19.04 point. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng are trading at 29,936.95  for up  with +0.25% percent or  +73.24 point. China’s Shanghai Composite are trading at 3,307.17 for up with +0.33% percent or +10.79 point. India’s BSE Sensex are trading at 33,997.62 for up with +0.44% percent or  +149.59 point at 12:15 PM.The FTSE 100 are trading at 7,650.23 for up with +0.36% percent or +27.35 point. Germany’s DAX are trading at 12,939.24  with a loss of -0.31% percent or  -40.70 point. France’s CAC 40 are trading at 5,330.56 with a loss of -0.17% percent or -8.86 point. The Stoxx Europe 600 are trading at 389.32 with a loss of -389.32 percent or -0.20 point.