Wall Street retreated in light premarket trading Monday as the year draws to a close but lacks the euphoria that pushed markets to record highs in 2024, the Associated Press reports. Futures for the S&P 500 slipped 0.4% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%.
Shares of Jeju Air Co., a low-cost South Korean airline, dropped after one of the company’s Boeing 737-800s skidded off a runway, hit a concrete wall, and burst into flames Sunday, killing 179 of the 181 people aboard. Authorities were investigating why the aircraft’s landing gear failed to deploy.
The disaster was yet another blow for Boeing following a machinists strike, further safety problems with its troubled top-selling aircraft and a plunging stock price. Its shares fell 3% in premarket trading and have declined more than 30% this year.
Despite some post-Christmas sluggishness, U.S. financial markets are moving closer to another standout annual finish. The S&P 500 is on track for a gain of around 25% in 2024. That would mark a second consecutive yearly gain of more than 20%, the first time that has happened since 1997-1998.
The gains have been driven partly by upbeat economic data showing that consumers continued spending and the labor market remained strong. Inflation, while still high, has also been steadily easing.
U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 28 cents to $70.88 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up 20 cents to $73.99 per barrel.
The dollar was trading at 157.55 yen.
