Investing.com – U.S. stock index futures were broadly steady on Wednesday evening as markets were closed for Christmas, while Wall Street saw a rally in megacap stocks in a shortened trading session a day earlier.
The New York Stock Exchange closed early on Tuesday for Christmas Eve and the market remained closed on Christmas Day. Trading volumes were expected to be light for the remaining sessions in a holiday-shortened week.
remained subdued at 6,097.50 points, but were slightly higher at 22,060.00 points at 7:00 p.m. ET (00:00 GMT). remained largely stable at 43,620.00 points.
Tech profits drive Wall Street higher
Tech added to its strong start to the week when the so-called Magnificent 7 jumped on Tuesday.
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:) rose over 7% and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:) gained 1.2%, while other tech giants such as Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:), Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:) also climbed.
Chip stocks, which had posted gains at the start of the week, extended their gains on Tuesday as the Biden administration launched a new trade investigation into legacy chips made in China.
The investigation, which could lead to additional tariffs on Chinese semiconductors, underscores ongoing tensions in the global technology supply chain.
Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:) rose over 3%, while Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:) gained 1%.
On Tuesday, the index rose 1.1% to 6,040.04 points and rose 1.4% to 20,031.13, while rising 0.9% to 43,297.03 points.
Wall Street is recovering from last week’s Fed-induced slump
The Federal Reserve last week forecast fewer cuts than expected for 2025. This had led to sharp declines in all three major indices the previous week and a weekly decline on Wall Street.
The Fed signaled a cautious approach to monetary policy adjustments and stressed the need for further progress on inflation before considering further rate cuts.
After the Fed meeting, markets reduced their rate cut expectations and expected only two more rate cuts next year.
Wall Street gradually shrugged off concerns about the interest rate outlook after PCE inflation data came in slightly weaker than expected. Major stock indexes jumped on Monday and continued to gain on Tuesday, regaining most of the ground they lost last week.
