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AHEAD OF NEW YEAR'S EVE, U.S. STOCKS LOOK DRESSED TO THE NINES

U.S. stocks are subdued on the final trading day of an upbeat year which has seen the benchmark S&P 500 rally close to a record peak due to growing expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates early next year.

Indeed, the S&P 500 .SPX is now around 4,785 and is just shy of its January 3, 2022 record-high close of 4,796.56 and its January 4, 2022 intraday peak of 4,818.62.

Meanwhile, the SPX, DJI .DJI and Nasdaq Composite .IXIC are all on pace to rise for a ninth-straight week.

The SPX last rose nine weeks in a row from late-November 2003 to late-January 2004. The DJI rose nine-straight weeks from late-December 2018 to late-February 2019. The IXIC gained for 10 weeks in a row from late-December 2018 to early-March 2019.

Here is an market snapshot around 20 minutes after the open:

(Terence Gabriel)

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FOR FRIDAY'S OTHER LIVE MARKETS POSTS:

NASDAQ COMPOSITE: CREATURES ARE STIRRING, INCLUDING THE MICE - CLICK HERE

SWISS FRANC TOP OF THE HILL IN 2023, CAN CLIMB HIGHER - CLICK HERE

GS FORECASTS CHINESE RATE CUT IN Q1 - CLICK HERE

STOXX HAS YEAR END FLIRTATION WITH NEW 23-MONTH HIGH - CLICK HERE

(Terence Gabriel is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)