Stock futures were relatively unchanged on Wednesday after the broad market S&P 500 notched a record close. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 14 points. S&P 500 futures traded around the flatline, as did Nasdaq-100 futures. Major U.S. indexes climbed for a fourth straight session on Tuesday, led by tech names including Google parent Alphabet, Nvidia, Broadcom and Amazon. The S&P 500 ended the regular session up about 0.5% and posted a fresh record close of 6,909.79. The index is just below its intraday all-time high of 6,920.34. The Nasdaq Composite gained about 0.6%, and the 30-stock Dow added around 79 points, or nearly 0.2%, to finish the day. Earlier Tuesday, the Commerce Department issued its a third-quarter reading of the U.S. gross domestic product that came in at 4.3%, surpassing the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 3.2%.The report, which had been delayed by the government shutdown, initially led traders to lower their expectations of interest rate cuts early next year. However, fed funds futures trading still indicates two rate cuts by the end of 2026, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Investors continue to hope for the coveted Santa Claus rally, a year-end stock market surge that occurs between the last five trading days of the year and the first two of the new year — in this case from the opening bell on Dec. 24 until Jan. 5. According to LPL Financial chief technical strategist Adam Turnquist, the S&P 500 has averaged a 1.3% return during the Santa Claus rally period, with positive results occurring 78% of the time. The market’s typical seven-day average return is just 0.3% with a positivity rate of 58%, meanwhile, he wrote in a note to clients. “Momentum heading into year-end suggests a favorable setup for a positive Santa Claus Rally — a historically bullish signal for January and the year ahead,” Turnquist said. “While overall market breadth remains somewhat narrow for an index near record highs, the trend is moving in the right direction, supported by a rotation toward cyclical sectors. A close above the S&P 500′s December high could pave the way for the next leg higher above the 7,000-point milestone.” On the economic front Wednesday morning, traders will keep an eye out for weekly jobless claims. The New York Stock Exchange will close early on Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET on Christmas Eve and will be closed Thursday for Christmas Day. U.S. Treasury yields were little changed on Wednesday as investors positioned for a shortened trading day ahead of the holidays. The 10-year Treasury yield — the benchmark for U.S. government borrowing — was more than 1 basis point lower at 4.157%. The yield on the 2-year Treasury note rose less than 1 basis point to 3.532%. The 30-year bond yield slipped more than a basis point to 4.817%. Asia-Pacific markets closed mostly lower Wednesday, breaking ranks with Wall Street that saw key benchmarks advance overnight after better-than-expected economic growth data. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 0.14% to close at 50,344.1, while the Topix lost 0.46% to end at 3,407.37. South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.21% to 4,108.62, while the small-cap Kosdaq was 0.47% lower at 915.2. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.17% to end the trading day at 25,818.93, while mainland China’s CSI 300 closed 0.29% higher at 4,634.06. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.38% to 8,762.7, snapping a four-day streak of gains. Oil prices rose slightly for a sixth day on Wednesday, supported by robust U.S. economic growth and the risk of supply disruptions from Venezuela ⁠and Russia, though prices were on course for their steepest annual decline since 2020. Brent crude futures climbed 14 ‍cents, or 0.2%, to $62.52 ‍a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude added 23 cents, or 0.4%, to $58.61. Both contracts have gained about 6% since December 16, when they plunged to near five-year lows. Gold ⁠broke above $4,500 an ounce for the first time on Wednesday while silver and platinum also marked new record ‍highs, as safe-haven demand and ‍expectations of further U.S. ‍rate cuts next year fuelled speculative interest in precious metals. Spot gold was up 0.1% at $4,493.76 per ounce, after marking a record high of $4,525.19 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures for ‌February ‌delivery climbed 0.3% to $4,520.00. Silver hit an all-time high of $72.70 ​and was last up 0.9% at $72.09 an ounce, while platinum peaked at $2,377.50 before paring gains to stand 0.3% higher at $2,282.70. “The lack of any ⁠bearish factors and strong momentum, all backed by solid fundamentals, which include continued central bank buying, a falling U.S. dollar and some level of haven demand,” is supporting gold, said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and FOREX.com.