Stocks are signaling a higher open for the last trading day of 2017, setting up the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) for yet another record close. Once again trading action will likely be thin ahead of the long weekend, with just the Chicago purchasing managers index (PMI) on the economic schedule today. As such, the Dow and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are both set to end the week, month, and quarter higher -- on top of their best year since 2013 -- while the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) will need only a modest win to overcome its weekly deficit.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
Analyst: Tax reform will send these 2 stocks to record highs in 2018. Options bulls scored big on this red-hot oil stock. Why it could be time to buy puts on Chesapeake Energy. Plus, a soaring forex stock; and 2 stocks moving on tax reform buzz.
It was a quiet close to 2017 for most major Asian benchmarks. A firming yen kept buyers at bay in Tokyo, where Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.08%, but notched a 19.1% advance for the year. China's Shanghai Composite tacked on 0.4% for the day and 6.5% for the year, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed up 0.2% to bring its annual gain to 36.1%. Markets in Seoul were closed today, but the South Korean Kospi notched a 21.6% surge over the course of the calendar year.
In London, the FTSE 100 added 0.9% to wrap up 2017 at a record closing high, having tacked on 7.8% since the start of January. Traders in Paris and Frankfurt are still making their final moves for the year, with a slight downside bias at midday. The French CAC 40 is off 0.2%, on pace to end 2017 on a gain of 9.7%, while the German DAX is down 0.5% for the day, but 12.5% higher on the year.