US Stock Futures Stabilize After Another Record-Breaking Day for Dow

New York (Dec 6)  Stock futures were little changed on Tuesday, stabilizing after the Dow Jones Industrial Average notched new records a day earlier.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.03%, Dow futures fell 0.02% and Nasdaq futures added 0.07%.

The Dow has crept to new records in the past few weeks as investors bet that President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet picks would herald Wall Street-friendly moves. Picks included Steve Mnuchin for Treasury secretary, a former executive of Goldman Sachs, who called for a roll-back of portions of the Dodd-Frank financial rules. Energy stocks Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) also drove the Dow to records after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries reached a production freeze deal.

Crude oil fell on Tuesday for the first time since OPEC reached its agreement last Wednesday. Oil had rallied since Wednesday in relief after some of the world's largest oil producers accepted terms to limit output. Hopes for a deal had gone back and forth in recent weeks as individual OPEC members raised doubt over their cooperation.

West Texas Intermediate crude was down 1.3% to $51.14 a barrel on Tuesday morning.

Markets continued to shrug off potential negative effects of Italy's "no" vote on its constitutional reform referendum. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said Monday he would resign following the public's vote not to amend Italy's 1948 constitution, a clear signal that voters didn't want to implement Renzi's proposed changes to stimulate the Italian economy. European markets moved slightly higher on Tuesday morning.

Source: TheStreet