By Jesse Cohen
Investing.com - U.S. stock futures were little changed ahead of Wall Street's final session of the year on Tuesday, as investors stuck to the sidelines after a record rally that was fueled by optimism around U.S.-China trade relations, three interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and easing fears of a recession.
Much to the surprise of many every year, Wall Street trades for a full day on New Year’s Eve. Markets will then stay closed on Wednesday, however, in celebration of New Year’s Day.
They reopen for a full session Thursday and Friday, but trading volumes are expected to remain light as many traders are still away on holiday.
Stocks fell from their all-time highs on Monday as investors took some risk off the table on the second-to-last trading day of a historic year for equities.
As it stands now, the benchmark S&P 500 index is on track to post an annual gain of 28.5%, which would be its best yearly performance since 2013.
The Nasdaq Composite has fared even better, rallying 34.8% this year, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 22% in 2019.
2020 could be another strong year on Wall Street: the S&P 500 tends to log an annual return of 11.2% after a year in which it climbs at least 20%, according to Dow Jones Market Data figures going back to 1950.
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-- Reuters contributed to this report