Stock futures were slightly higher Tuesday, as investors look to wrap up another booming year that hoisted the S&P 500 to its second consecutive annual gain exceeding 20%, spurred by enthusiasm for rate cuts, economic strength and artificial intelligence. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 94 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.3% along with Nasdaq-100 futures. The S&P 500 has surged more than 23.8%, putting it solidly on pace for its second consecutive gain above 20%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has added nearly 13%, while the Nasdaq Composite has outperformed with a 29.8% advance. The story surrounding AI and its potential productivity boost powered significant gains for the major averages throughout the year, pushing “Magnificent Seven” stocks such AI chip darling Nvidia and iPhone giant Apple to new highs. The megacap technology gains also lifted the major averages to record levels. Stocks also benefited as the Federal Reserve began cutting rates on the heels of one of its most aggressive hiking cycles in recent history, spurring hopes for a period of economic growth as borrowing costs ease. Since September, the central bank has lowered rates by 100 basis points. Although further rate cuts are expected in the new year, the Fed’s pace may slow from initial expectations. President-elect Donald Trump’s successful reelection campaign in November also proved a boon for the market, fueling hopes of deregulation, lower corporate tax rates and a focus on the U.S. economy, which has remained resilient. Expectations for a cryptocurrency-friendly administration powered bitcoin to a record above $108,000. Tesla was another big election winner due to CEO Elon Musk’s close ties to Trump. The Nasdaq and S&P have surged 7.1% and 2.5%, respectively, this quarter and are both on pace for a fifth consecutive positive quarter for the first time since 2021. The Dow is up a mere 0.6% over the same period for its fourth positive quarter in five. Despite the strong year-to-date performance, Wall Street is entering the final day of the year on sour note as the market has lost some of its momentum in recent sessions. December has been a weak stretch for equities as investors take profits in some of 2024′s biggest winners and fears mount over rising rates into year-end. The Dow is down 5.2% for its worst month since September 2022. The Nasdaq is up 1.4%, while the S&P is down 2.1% and headed for its worst month since April. “It sort of makes sense, if you think about it,” Bespoke Investment Group co-founder Paul Hickey told CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” on Monday. “You go into the end of the year with market up a lot, you’re coming in with a new administration — so the uncertainty is going to be there. You can’t fault investors for ringing the register a little bit here.” The loss in momentum has also dashed investor hopes for a Santa Claus rally, which occurs when the market rises during each of the five final trading days of a calendar year and the first two trading days of January. Instead, the S&P 500 has dropped at least 1% during each of the past two trading days. The Dow finished Monday’s choppy trading session with a loss exceeding 418 points, or 0.97%. The S&P plunged 1.07%, while the Nasdaq shed 1.19%. The market is closed on Wednesday for New Year’s Day. U.S. Treasury yields were lower on Tuesday, the final trading day of the year, as investors considered the outlook for 2025. At 2:45 a.m. ET, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was down by over two basis points to 4.5187%. The 2-year Treasury yield was last more than two basis points lower to 4.2333%. Asia-Pacific markets fell Tuesday as China’s manufacturing growth missed expectations, but the country’s benchmark CSI 300 was on course to close the year higher, ending three years of losses. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, which ended a shortened trading day marginally higher at 20,059.95, also snapped a four-year losing streak with gains of nearly 18% in 2024. Mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 1.6% to close the day at 3,934.91, but ended the year with annual gains of about 15% after posting losses in 2023, 2022 and 2021. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.92% to close at 8,159.1 on a shortened trading day. It extended gains to a second straight year, advancing 8.5% in 2024. Taiwan’s Taiex led annual gains among Asian markets, advancing more than 29% in 2024. The index fell 0.67% to 23,035.10 on Tuesday. Japan and South Korea’s stock markets were closed for the New Year’s Eve holiday. Meanwhile, Brent crude futures rose 30 cents to $74.39 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 79 cents to $71.16 a barrel. Gold prices dipped in thin trade on Monday as traders awaited fresh catalysts, including next week’s U.S. economic data that could influence the Federal Reserve’s 2025 interest-rate outlook, as well as policies from incoming President Donald Trump. Spot gold fell 0.6% to $2,603.53 per ounce. U.S. gold futures were down 0.6% at $2,616.4.