Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures fall after Christmas break with jobs data on deck

U.S. stock futures fell on Thursday as trading resumed after the Christmas break as Wall Street looked forward to one of the week’s only economic data points.

Futures linked to the S&P 500 (ES=F) rose 0.3%, and futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq (NQ=F) also fell 0.3%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) lost 0.4%, leading the way down.

Meanwhile, bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell, falling below the $96,000 level as choppy trading continued. Crypto-linked stocks like MicroStrategy ( MSTR ) followed the declines.

Markets appeared to be struggling in an attempt to extend the start of the “Santa Claus Rally”, which started with a bang on Tuesday. All three major indexes rose around 1%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) are within striking distance of their record highs, having pared gains from a Fed-fueled plunge last week.

As Wall Street strolls back from its vacation, the usually routine release of weekly jobless claims will take more of the spotlight than usual as it is the only piece of the jobs puzzle this week.

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