US pre-open: Futures point to early gains before first day of trading for 2023

Wall Street futures were in the green ahead of the bell on Tuesday, setting major indices on a course for a positive start to the 2023 trading year.

As of 1215 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.32%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.28% and 0.34% higher, respectively.

The Dow closed 73.55 points lower on Friday, wrapping up 2022 in the same fashion it spent much of the year.

Futures were pointing to early gains prior to the open after major indices wrapped up 2022 with their worst full-year performance since the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. The Dow Jones saw out the year 8.8% lower, while the S&P 500 shed 19.4% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended 2022 33.1% weaker.

AvaTrade's Naeem Aslam said: "The US and European futures are trading off their lows of the day while traders are ready for a flurry of economic data and economic events that will be unfolding this week. There is no doubt that 2022 was officially the worst year for the US stock market since 2008, but this also means that there are higher chances of bargain hunters jumping into the market this year, given the opportunity."

In focus early on Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund's managing director Kristalina Georgieva cautioned that 2023 would be a tough year for the global economy as the US, China, and Europe all battle with weakening economic output.

On the macro front, S&P Global's December manufacturing purchasing managers index will be published at 1445 GMT, while November construction spending data will follow at 1500 GMT.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Tuesday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com