Dow, Nasdaq Futures Up Triple Digits as 2025 Trading Begins

The major indexes are fresh off strong 2024 gains

Fernanda Horner

Digital Content Manager

Jan 2, 2025 at 9:09 AM

Wall Street is poised to kick off 2025 with a rally, after all three major benchmarks ended an outstanding 2024 with a thud. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are up triple digits this morning, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) futures are firmly higher as well. Traders have the latest jobs data to sift through this morning, with last week's unemployment claims coming in at 211,000 -- well below analysts' estimates of 225,000.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

Don't fear consecutive strong years in the market, says Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White.
Buffett's Berkshire bets big on VeriSign stock.
Plus, NCLH added to bullish list, and fresh upgrades for USB and RTX.

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5 Things You Need to Know Today

The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.6 million call contracts and 730,947 put contracts exchanged on Tuesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.46 and the 21-day moving average remained at 0.61.
The shares of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NYSE:NCLH) are up 2.2% in premarket trading, after the company was added to Goldman Sachs' January 'conviction buy' list. NCLH rose 28.4% last year.
US Bancorp (NYSE:USB) stock is up 1.9% before the open, after D.A. Davidson upgraded the bank stock to "buy" from "neutral." The analyst in coverage noted the bank may see positive operating leverage rise back above 0.5%. USB added 10.5% in 2024.
Deutsche Bank upgraded RTX Corp (NYSE:RTX) to "buy" from "hold" and hiked its price target to $140 from $131, which implies more than 20% upside. The firm said the defense company has a “better earnings compounding story” than its peers. RTX rose 37.5% in 2024.
Light economic data after New Year's Day.

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Asian Markets Fall on Downbeat Economic Data

Asian markets moved lower today, as investors digested several bouts of economic data from the region. In China, the S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) dropped to 50.5 last month, missing estimates. Domestic product data in Singapore grew 4.3% year-over-year, slower than last quarter. In response, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1% lower, South Korea’s Kospi finished flat, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 2.2% and 2.7%, respectively.

Sentiment is mixed in Europe, with the oil and gas sector lifting stocks, while auto and banks struggle on the prospect of incoming tariffs with the Trump administration. At last check, London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.6%, France’s CAC 40 is off 0.5%, and Germany’s DAX is 0.1% higher.

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