By Daniel Shvartsman
Investing.com - Dow futures rose to start the last week of the year, as optimism over China's restrictive COVID policies ending sparked hope of a Santa rally.
Dow Jones Futures were up 230 points or 0.7% at 06:20 ET (11:20 GMT) to 33407. S&P 500 Futures also traded 0.7% higher, while Nasdaq 100 Futures were up 0.65%.
Chinese officials announced that quarantining would no longer be required for inbound travelers as of January 8th, 2023. Only a negative PCR test would be required, a decrease in requirements that has already led to a spike in travel bookings from Chinese consumers.
The holiday week should see thin trading, with the economic calendar containing only a few events today, including the Case-Shiller housing index and U.S. retail inventories.
In pre-market trading, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) dropped 3.6% as reports came that it would extend its light production schedule in Shanghai. Southwest Airlines Company (NYSE:LUV) dropped 3% as it dealt with flight cancellations in the wake of the recent disruptive weather in the U.S.
Signs that the China news or inertia would support a risk-on rally could be seen in commodity markets, with Crude Oil WTI Futures jumping 1.1% and Brent Oil Futures up 1% in early morning trading. Gold Futures continued its strong year-end momentum, trading 0.7% higher. The EUR/USD also rose 0.3% against the dollar, while the US Dollar Index dropped 0.3%. The United States 10-Year rose 0.8% in early trading.
AMC Entertainment Holdings Preferred Units (NYSE:APE) continued to rise in the pre-market, up 27% to 2.2, while the common stock AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:AMC) shares dropped 7.7% pre-market, as the arbitrage between the two securities continued to close off of a mooted plan to convert units into shares.