US Stock Futures Rise Ahead of First Trading Day of 2017

New York (Jan 3)  Stock futures moved higher Tuesday morning ahead of the first trading day of the new year. S&P 500 futures were up 0.83%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 0.79%, and Nasdaq futures rose 0.86%.

U.S. markets followed Asian markets higher after Chinese manufacturing activity expanded for the sixth consecutive month. The China Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers' index increased to 51.9 in December from 50.9 a month earlier. The increase was the metric's fastest rise since January 2013. China's Shanghai Composite increased by 1%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.7%.

A rally in crude oil also provided a boost to markets on Tuesday. Crude traded sharply higher as an agreement between Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to curb output took effect. OPEC member nations and 11 non-OPEC producers, including Russia, agreed to curb production by about 1.8 million barrels a day. OPEC member Saudi Arabia is taking the biggest cut, promising to reduce output by 486,000 barrels per day.

West Texas Intermediate crude was up 2.2% to $54.94 a barrel on Tuesday morning.

Stock futures pointed to a strong start to the new year after a solid 2016. The Dow gained 13.5% in 2016, while the S&P 500 rose 9.4% and the Nasdaq added 7.5%. The Dow received a big boost in the final two months as investors placed bets that a Donald Trump administration would yield higher infrastructure spending. The blue-chip index rocketed higher after the November election that saw an unexpected victory for President-elect Trump. 

Twitter  (TWTR)  lost another of its executive team after Kathy Chen, head of operations in China, announced her resignation. Twitter, which is blocked in the region, mainly sought to seduce Chinese advertisers looking for a global audience. The company's Greater China advertiser base rose nearly 400% over the past two years.  

Source: TheStreet