Stocks Set for Mixed Open as Wall Street Falls

Asian markets were set to open mixed on Friday as US stocks ended the first trading session of 2025 lower, weighed down by technology stocks.

Investors in Asia will continue to assess political uncertainty in South Korea as the country’s corruption watchdog seeks execute the arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk Yeolreports local media Yonhap News. Yoon’s short-lived attempt to impose martial law on December 3 led to political turmoil in the country.

China’s commerce ministry plans to impose export restrictions on certain technologies used to make battery components and to process critical minerals such as lithium and gallium, according to notification issued on Thursday. The public can send feedback on the proposal until February 1.

Australia S&P/ASX 200 up 0.18% at the open.

in Hong Kong Hang Seng Index Futures they were at 19,610, lower than the last HSI close of 19,623.32.

Japanese markets remain closed for the holiday.

The three major US indexes ended the first trading session of the new year lower, extending the weakness at the end of 2024, signaling that markets may not experience a “Santa bump” this year.

Investors hoped a “Santa’s Gathering” which includes the last five trading days of the year and the first two trading days of the following January. During this time period, the S&P 500 gained an average of 1.3% while ending higher nearly 80% of the time, Dow Jones market data since 1950 showed.

Overnight stay in the country, blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 151.95 points or 0.36% and ended at 42,392.27, while S&P 500 fell 0.22% to 5,868.55 and technological Nasdaq Composite decreased by 0.16% to 19,280.79.

That marked the fifth straight session in the red for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, their longest losing streaks since April. Big tech stocks weighed on the market, with Apple down 2.6% and Tesla down 6% on lower annual shipments.

— CNBC’s Jesse Pound and Christina Cheddar Berk contributed to this report.