Stock market investors hope for Santa rally despite interest rate worries – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, on a shortened Christmas Eve trading session in London

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial marktes and the world economy.

It’s the final trading day in global stock markets before Christmas, and traders will be hoping for a visit from Santa.

It’s never too late to believe in Santa.

Investors on Monday were shrugging off the bad news of past week – especially the one that suggested that the Federal Reserve (Fed) would cut its rates only two times in 2025 due to a too resilient US economy. Yesterday’s data that showed that the US durable goods orders fell more than expected in November, the new home sales rebounded slightly less than expected and the consumer confidence unexpectedly dropped in December.

12.30pm GMT: UK stock market to close early for Christmas

1.55pm GMT: US Redbook index of US retail sales

3pm GMT: Richmond Federal Reserve Continue reading...