Futures ticked up modestly on Thursday ahead of Wall Street’s last trading day of 2021.
U.S. equity markets will be open on New Year’s Eve for the first time in a decade thanks to NYSE Rule 7.2, which states trading is closed either Friday or Monday if a holiday falls on a weekend, with the exception of “unusual business conditions, such as the end of a monthly or yearly accounting period.” Bond traders will get to call it a day at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Markets mostly charged higher this week in a typically-bullish year-end run, even as reports of rising COVID-19 cases pour in across the globe. Swings were exaggerated by low trading volumes, with many on Wall Street on vacation.
The S&P 500 rallied to an intraday high on Thursday but receded late in the trading session to end lower after hitting its 70th record close of the year Wednesday. The index recorded a new all-time high every month this year, making 2021 among its best years ever, according to data published by LPL Research. The only other year it did so was in 2014.
“Although many were caught flat-footed by the strong equity returns this year, there were numerous clues,” said Ryan Detrick, LPL Financial chief market strategist, in a note.
“The huge end of year rally in 2020 was the first clue,” Detrick said. “Add in a strong first five days, a strong first quarter, the S&P 500 holding above the December lows in the first quarter, and right there you had several signals early in the year that strong returns…
