Dow Futures Steady, Dollar Slips

With just two trading days left of 2023, it’s all about the weak dollar.

The greenback is on track to fall for a sixth consecutive session Thursday, putting the WSJ Dollar index at its weakest level since July.

Is a weak dollar a bad thing? Probably not. The fall has been driven by investor optimism about the global economy, which pushes up currencies outside the U.S. The dollar slide has accelerated recently as traders boost bets on Fed interest-rate cuts next year. A weaker dollar also means bigger profits for U.S. companies with big overseas operations.

The S&P 500 is also front and center, with the benchmark index now just 0.3% away from its previous closing record reached in January 2022. The index has come a long way: It has risen 34% from last year’s low, helped along by a monstrous rally this quarter.

Stock futures mostly advanced. Contracts tied to the tech-focused Nasdaq-100 led the way, rising 0.2%. S&P 500 futures ticked up slightly, while Dow futures retreated.

Asian stocks rallied after Beijing appeared to soften a crackdown on videogame makers. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rallied 2.5% and the Shanghai Composite gained 1.4%. Internet giants Tencent and NetEase each gained more than 2%.

Oil prices declined as traders assessed risks of shipping disruptions in the Red Sea. Brent crude fell below $79 a barrel.

Bitcoin slipped below $43,000 but still remained close to its 2023 high.

Treasury yields rose slightly, with the yield on the 10-year note rising beyond 3.8%.