Wall Street is quiet ahead of holiday closures as markets await new U.S. economic data

Markets are flat early Tuesday in holiday-thinned trading before head of the release of new data on how the U.S. economy fared in the third quarter.

Futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq are all essentially unchanged before the opening bell.

Shares of the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk jumped more than 7% overnight after U.S. regulators approved a pill version of the blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy, the first daily oral medication to treat obesity. Novo’s Wegovy is a GLP-1 drug that works like widely used injectables to mimic a natural hormone that controls appetite and feelings of fullness.

Again touching new records, the price of gold rose 1.2% early Tuesday to $4,523.30 an ounce, adding to its consistent gains throughout the year. Silver rose 1.7%, to $69.71 an ounce.

Oil prices edged higher early Tuesday after jumping more than 2% on Monday when the U.S. Coast Guard said it was pursuing another sanctioned oil tanker in the Caribbean.

U.S. benchmark crude added 4 cents to $58.05 per barrel. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, gained 7 cents to $62.14 per barrel.

Even after five straight days of gains, oil prices are down about 19% since the beginning of 2025 with demand lagging. U.S. factory conditions are weakening with activity readings hitting five-month lows, according to S&P Global.

Markets in the U.S. will close early on Wednesday and remain closed on Thursday for the Christmas holiday. Yet several economic reports during the shortened week could shed more light on the condition and direction of the U.S. economy.

The government on Tuesday releases the first of three estimates on gross domestic product, a reflection of how the broader U.S. economy fared in the third quarter. Also, the Conference Board will offer results from its December consumer confidence survey.

Wednesday will bring a weekly update from the Labor Department on applications for jobless benefits, a proxy for U.S. layoffs.

In Europe at midday Germany’s DAX edged 0.1% higher, while the CAC 40 in Paris slipped 0.2%. Britain’s FTSE 100 was unchanged.

In Asian, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was flat at 50,412,87 and the dollar fell against the Japanese yen after officials in Tokyo warned they would intervene if the yen weakened further.

The dollar traded at 155.95 yen, down from 157.04 yen late Monday. Instead of gaining after the Bank of Japan raised its key policy rate on Friday, the yen had weakened, drawing the usual objections from the Finance Ministry to larger than usual currency fluctuations.

“The hint of currency intervention proved to be such a serious threat that the yen, which had been significantly oversold after the Bank of Japan meeting, rose from the ashes,” Alex Kruptsikevich of FXPro said in a commentary.

The euro climbed to $1.1797 from $1.1762.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gave up early gains to fall 0.1% to 25,774.14. The Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% higher, to 3,919.98.

South Korea’s Kospi added 0.3% to 4,117.32. Shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean’s shares jumped 12.5% after President Donald The President said it would help build a new class of U.S. battleship at the Hanwha Philly shipyard.

The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia jumped 1.1% to 8,795.70.

In Taiwan, the Taiex advanced 0.6%, while India’s Sensex was nearly unchanged.

—Elaine Kurtenbach and Matt Ott, AP Business Writers

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