WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - On December 12, 2024, U.S. stock futures indicate a lower open, with S&P 500 futures down 0.3%. This follows a strong performance where the Nasdaq surged above 20,000 for the first time.
Negative sentiment is driven by a Labor Department report revealing that producer prices increased by 0.4% in November, surpassing expectations of a 0.2% rise. The annual producer price growth also accelerated to 3.0%, up from 2.6% in October.
Additionally, initial jobless claims rose unexpectedly to 242,000 for the week ending December 7, an increase of 17,000 from the previous week, against expectations of a drop to 220,000.
During Wednesday's trading, the Nasdaq gained 347.65 points (1.8%) to close at 20,034.89, while the S&P 500 rose by 49.28 points (0.8%) to 6,084.19. The Dow, however, fell 99.27 points (0.2%) to 44,148.56, marking its fifth consecutive decline.
In global markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose by 1.2%, and China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.9%. European markets also showed positive movement, with the French CAC 40 up 0.1% and both the U.K.'s FTSE 100 and the German DAX up by 0.2%.
In commodities, crude oil futures edged down to $70.28 per barrel, while gold futures fell to $2,739.30 an ounce. The U.S. dollar is trading at 151.92 yen and $1.0496 against the euro.