Global Markets Edge Higher, Europe Closed For Boxing Day, Trade Deal Lifts Sentiment

The U.S. Futures Are Up In Early Trading

The U.S futures are indicating a slightly higher open on Thursday following the Christmas holiday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and NASDAQ Composite are all up between 0.10% and 0.15% in the early pre-market session. Spirits are lifted by the recent trade news and word from both China and the U.S. a signing ceremony is close at hand.

In stock news, shares of Amazon are moving higher after the company announced that holiday eCommerce shopping had broken all previous records. The stock is up about 0.40%. Paypal is also moving higher in the early session. The company says it is actively looking for takeover targets for 2020. According to Paypal, there are numerous opportunities within the digital payments sphere. Boeing, however, is under pressure after the company let it be known it had delivered documents to Congress. The documents reveal “very disturbing” information relating to the 737-Max crisis.

On the economic front, the initial claims data was better than expected. Initial claims fell -13,000 to 222,000 and remain near their historic lows. At current levels, jobless claims are consistent with tight and healthy labor market conditions. Also making news are anticipated round of wage hikes across the U.S. Minimum wages were hiked by 19 states in 2019 and more hikes are expected in 2020. The business most impacted are the restaurants but, so far, price-pass throughs have offset the higher costs of labor.

Europe Is Closed For Boxing Day

The EU markets are closed on Thursday to celebrate the Boxing Day holiday, among others. Despite this, some economic data was released including the jobless claims figures. In the EU, jobless claims fell much more than expected, by 27.8 thousand, and more than double the consensus estimate.

Asian Markets Are Higher In Thin Post-Holiday Trading

Asian markets are mostly higher after Thursday’s session with the Shanghai Composite up 0.85%. The Nikkei and Korean Kospi are both also higher at the end of the session, 0.60% and 0.36%, while equity markets in Hong Kong and Australia remain closed. In stock news, shares of SK Hynix are among today’s biggest gainers with an advance of 1.0%. All eyes are on the anticipated Phase One Trade Deal signing. The signing ceremony is expected to take place next month.