Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Wednesday, December 26:
1. Futures Edge Higher After Christmas Eve Meltdown
U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open, as Wall Street readied to reopen after a shortened pre-Christmas trading session on Monday, that saw it suffer its worst Christmas Eve ever in the history of the stock market.
At 5:45AM ET (10:45 GMT), the blue-chip Dow futures were up 105 points, or around 0.5%, the S&P 500 futures rose 12 points, or about 0.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a gain of 22 points, or roughly 0.4%.
U.S. markets were closed on Tuesday for the Christmas holiday
Wall Street plunged on Monday in their worst day of Christmas Eve trading ever. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted more than 600 points, while the S&P 500 closed on the brink of bear market territory.
Earlier, Asian shares ended mixed. Japanese stocks saw gains following a Christmas Day plunge of both the Nikkei 225 and Topix.
Moves were limited by a holiday in Europe, where markets in Britain, Germany and France all remained closed.
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2. Trump Lashes Out at Fed – Again
Trump continued his spate of open criticism of the Fed, saying the central bank was hiking interest rates too quickly.
"They're raising interest rates too fast because they think the economy is so good. But I think that they will get it pretty soon," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday.
The Fed lifted rates for the fourth time this year last week and kept most of its guidance for additional hikes over the next two years.
Trump also expressed confidence in Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, referring to him as a "very talented guy, very smart person."
The president also praised U.S. companies as "the greatest in the world" and said their lower stock prices present an opportunity for investors.
"I have great confidence in our companies. We have companies, the greatest in the world, and they're doing really well. They have record kinds of numbers. So I think it's a tremendous opportunity to buy."
3. Trump Digs in Heels on U.S. Government Shutdown
U.S. President Donald Trump said the partial shutdown of the federal government was going to last until his demand for funds to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border is met.
"I can't tell you when the government is going to reopen," Trump said, speaking after a Christmas Day video conference with U.S. troops serving abroad.
"I can tell you it's not going to reopen until we have a wall, a fence, whatever they'd like to call it. I'll call it whatever they want, but it's all the same thing. It's a barrier from people pouring into the country, from drugs."
Building a wall along the border with Mexico to keep migrants from entering the country illegally was a central plank of Trump's presidential campaign, but Democrats are vehemently opposed and have rejected his funding request of $5 billion.
4. U.S. Dollar Rises, But Treasury Yields Slip
Away from equities, the U.S. dollar edged higher against the other major currencies.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.2% at 96.20.
The greenback was stronger against the yen, with USD/JPY gaining 0.2% to trade at 110.52. The dollar has struggled particularly against the yen, losing ground for eight straight sessions leading up to Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in the bond market, U.S. Treasury yields inched lower, with the benchmark 10-year note standing at 2.73%, the lowest since early February, as developments in Washington added to investors' concern about a slowdown in the global economy next year.
The yield on U.S. government bonds with 2-year maturities stood at a five-month low of 2.58%, keeping the gap between the two at around 0.15 percentage points.
A flattening yield curve has heralded coming recessions in the past.
The economic calendar will be fairly quiet on Wednesday, with the latest report on home prices from S&P/Case-Shiller due at 9:00AM ET (14:00 GMT), followed by the Richmond Fed’s monthly report on manufacturing activity at 10AM ET (15:00 GMT).
5. U.S. Oil Prices Rebound After Steep Drop
In commodities, oil prices pushed higher, with the U.S. benchmark gaining more than 1% after reaching its lowest level since June 2017 in a bruising pre-Christmas session on Monday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 70 cents, or 1.6%, to $43.20 a barrel. It fell to $42.36 on Monday, the lowest since June 2017, before ending the day down 6.7%.
International Brent crude oil futures tacked on 71 cents, or 1.4%, to $51.48.
Crude oil has lost over a third of its value since October in what has become one of the biggest declines since a price collapse in 2014, with surging supply and the specter of faltering demand scaring off investors.
-- Reuters contributed to this report