Investing.com — U.S. stock index futures remained largely flat Wednesday evening as markets were closed for Christmas, while Wall Street saw mega-cap stocks surge in a shortened trading session the day before.
The New York Stock Exchange closed its doors early Tuesday on Christmas Eve, and the market was closed on Christmas Day. Trading volumes were expected to be weak during the remaining sessions of the holiday-shortened week.
Shares fell at 6,097.50 points, while rising slightly at 22,060.00 points by 19:00 ET (00:00 GMT). It was largely flat at 43,620.00 points.
Technology gains push Wall Street higher
The technology added to its strong start to the week as the so-called Magnificent 7 jumped on Tuesday.
Shares of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:) jumped more than 7%, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:) gained 1.2%, while shares of other tech giants rose including Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:), and Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:). :), and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:) also rose.
Chip stocks, which posted gains at the start of the week, added to gains on Tuesday as the Biden administration launched a new trade investigation into older Chinese-made chips.
The investigation, which could lead to additional tariffs on Chinese semiconductors, highlights ongoing tensions in the global technology supply chain.
Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:) jumped more than 3%, while Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:) rose 1%.
On Tuesday, the index rose 1.1% to 6,040.04 points, and advanced 1.4% to 20,031.13 points, while the index rose 0.9% to 43,297.03 points.
Wall Street is recovering from the Federal Reserve's decline last week
The US Federal Reserve predicted smaller-than-expected cuts in 2025 last week. This led to sharp declines in all three major indexes in the previous week and a weekly decline on Wall Street.
The Fed signaled a cautious approach to monetary policy adjustments, stressing the need for continued progress on inflation before further interest rate cuts are considered.
Markets lowered their expectations for interest rate cuts after the Fed meeting, anticipating only two additional cuts next year.
Wall Street gradually shrugged off concerns about interest rate expectations after personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation data came in slightly lower than expected. Major stock indexes jumped on Monday and rose further on Tuesday, regaining most of the ground they lost last week.
