Dec 24 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged lower in thin Christmas Eve trading on Wednesday, as traders wait to see whether stocks can extend record gains in a seasonally strong stretch for markets.
The benchmark S&P 500 hit a closing record high on Tuesday, lifted by megacap technology stocks, while a flurry of data pained a mixed picture of the U.S. economy, prompting traders to stick to expectations of monetary easing next year.
The U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in two years in the
third quarter, according to government data on Tuesday that was delayed by a 43-day federal shutdown, but worsening consumer confidence in December and a flat reading on November factory production tempered the outlook.
Traders are still pricing in two 25 basis points interest rate cuts by the end of 2026, as per LSEG data, although they pared back odds of such a move in January to 13% from 18% before the data.
U.S. weekly jobless claims data is due at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Recent gains in U.S. stocks have spurred hopes of a "Santa Claus rally", a seasonal phenomenon where the S&P 500 posts gains in the last five trading days of the year and the first two in January, according to Stock Trader's Almanac.
The period begins on Wednesday and runs through January 5.
By 6:05 a.m. ET, S&P 500 e-minis were down 4.25 points, or 0.06%. Nasdaq 100 e-minis dropped 16.25 points, or 0.06% and Dow e-minis dipped 26 points, or 0.05%.
Trading volumes are likely to stay below normal, with U.S. stock markets set to close at 1 p.m. ET (1800 GMT) on Wednesday and remain shut on Thursday for Christmas.
Among single stocks, Nike climbed 2.1% after Apple CEO Tim Cook, the sportwear giant's lead independent director, bought about $3 million shares.
Dynavax Technologies surged 37.5% after French drugmaker Sanofi said it would buy the U.S. vaccines company for around $2.2 billion (1.9 billion euros).
UiPath rose 8.3% as the software company is set to join S&P Midcap 400 index.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
