Dow futures fell 0.02% to trade below 48,750 during the European session on Tuesday, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures also remained weak, falling 0.04% and 0.05% to near 6,950 and 25,720, respectively. Trading volumes are expected to remain weak due to the end-of-year holidays.
Minutes from the December Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting will be considered later in the North American session, which could provide insight into the Fed’s outlook for 2026. Focus will shift towards US initial jobless claims data due on Wednesday.
US index futures remained flat after Wall Street posted losses in the US regular session on Monday, as technology stocks pulled back from last week’s rally. Still, stocks are on track to end 2025 near record levels, posting double-digit gains in a year marked by tariff disputes and shifting central bank policies.
Nvidia has become the first publicly traded company to exceed $5 trillion in market value, driven by its pivotal role in AI workloads and growing demand for its chips. The company also completed its long-awaited $5 billion strategic investment in Intel, formalizing the September announcement into cash, issued shares and an official stake of about 4%.
Traders are monitoring geopolitical tensions as uncertainty over the peace process between Ukraine and Russia resurfaces. The Russian Foreign Minister said that Moscow’s negotiating position will change after the alleged attacks on President Vladimir Putin’s residence.
Dow Jones FAQs
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is one of the oldest stock market indexes in the world, consisting of the 30 most actively traded stocks in the United States. The index is price-weighted and not market capitalization-weighted. It is calculated by summing the component stock prices and dividing them by a factor that currently amounts to 0.152. The index was founded by Charles Dow, who also founded the Wall Street Journal. In later years, it was criticized for not being broadly representative enough because it tracks only 30 conglomerates, unlike broader indices such as the S&P 500.
There are many different factors that drive the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). The overall performance of the constituent companies disclosed in the company’s quarterly earnings reports is the headline performance. US and global macroeconomic data also contribute to its impact on investor sentiment. The level of interest rates, set by the Federal Reserve (Fed), also affects the Dow Jones Industrial Average because it affects the cost of credit, on which many companies rely heavily. Therefore, inflation can be a key driver along with other metrics that influence the Fed’s decisions.
Dow Theory is a method of determining the fundamental trend of the stock market developed by Charles Dow. The basic step is to compare the trend of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and the Dow Jones Transportation Average (DJTA) and only follow trends where both are moving in the same direction. Size is a confirmatory criterion. The theory uses elements of peak and trough analysis. Dow Theory postulates three phases of a trend: accumulation, when smart money starts buying or selling; Public participation, when the wider public joins in; And distribution, when the smart money comes out.
There are a number of ways to trade the DJIA. The first is the use of ETFs that allow investors to trade the Dow Jones Industrial Average as a single security, rather than having to buy shares in all 30 component companies. A leading example of this is the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA). DJIA futures allow traders to speculate on the future value of an index and options provide the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell the index at a predetermined price in the future. Mutual funds enable investors to purchase a share of a diversified portfolio of DJIA stocks and thus provide exposure to the overall index.
