Stock futures rise heading into the final trading week of 2022

U.S. stock futures rose on Tuesday morning as investors head into the final trading days of 2022, deliberating whether a Santa Claus rally will appear and lift a market that has been weighed down by recession fears.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose by 154 points, or 0.46%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.63% and 0.75%, respectively.

During the regular session Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 176 points higher, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 rose 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.2%.

Friday marked the start of the time period for a Santa Claus rally, which is typically considered the final five-day trading stretch in the current year, as well as the first two trading days in the new year. Markets were closed Monday for the Christmas holiday.

Due to low trading volumes, investors are expecting either relative quiet or further volatility during the holiday-shortened week. Markets are closing out a month and year defined by a surge in recession fears.

In December, the S&P 500 dropped roughly 5.8%, while the Dow and Nasdaq dropped about 4% and 8.5%, respectively. These are the biggest monthly declines since September. The major averages are headed for their worst annual performance since 2008.

“[The] question of what kind of recession remains unanswered,” Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial, wrote Friday. “And for this, the answer is dictated primarily from how much more the Fed needs to raise rates to finally tackle sticky inflation.”

On the economic front, traders are expecting the latest data on November wholesale inventories and the October S&P/Case-Shiller home prices Tuesday before the bell.