U.S. index futures gain as Dow above 18,000, S&P 500 near record

LONDON – U.S. stock-index futures climbed, amid low volume as markets reopen after the Christmas holiday, as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index headed for a second straight weekly gain near a record level.

Contracts on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in March rose 0.2 percent to 2,081.9 at 7:36 a.m. in New York today as 81 of the futures changed hands. Dow Jones Industrial Average contracts added 31 points, or 0.2 percent, to 18,019, and those on the Nasdaq 100 Index gained 0.3 percent.

Both the S&P 500 and the Dow reached records this week after posting their biggest five-day rally in three years. The S&P 500 climbed 0.5 percent in the past three days, and the Dow added 1.3 percent, closing above 18,000 for a second day on Dec. 24. The Russell 2000 Index of smaller companies is within 2 points of an all-time closing high.

U.S. markets were closed yesterday for Christmas. Most major markets around the globe are shut today.

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The recent gains are taking the Dow up 1.1 percent for the month and 8.8 percent this year. The S&P 500 has risen 0.7 percent in December and 13 percent in 2014.

A slump in oil prices threatened the stock rally earlier this month, with the S&P 500 closing at a seven-week low on Dec. 16. The index recouped its losses faster than in comparable drops earlier this year as the Federal Reserve said it will be patient on the timing of interest-rate increases and the U.S. economy expanded at the fastest pace in more than a decade.

Since the bull market began in 2009, the Dow has risen 175 percent, propelled by better-than-estimated corporate results and three rounds of Fed bond buying. The S&P 500 has more than tripled during that period. Even with slumps in 2014 risking to derail a bull market in its sixth year, the Dow’s worst retreat was only about 7 percent, and the gauge recovered from each drop in two months.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange S&P 500 Volatility Index, the gauge of S&P 500 swings known as the VIX, has slumped 39 percent in the past six trading days, its biggest plunge since January 2013.

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