Futures Inch Lower After Last Week's Rally

U.S. stock index futures slipped Monday, kicking off the final holiday-shortened trading week of the year on a lower note, after the S&P 500 and the Dow had closed at record highs last week.

The record highs in the benchmark S&P ‍500 and the blue-chip Dow had investors hoping for a "Santa Claus rally," a seasonal phenomenon ‍where the S&P 500 posts gains in the last five trading days of the year and the first two in January, according to Stock Trader's Almanac.

Wall ⁠Street's main indexes closed flat on Friday, but are set for gains in December - a month considered traditionally strong for U.S. equities — on the back of a rally in technology stocks after ​an upbeat forecast from Micron Technology earlier in the month.

Mild inflation and jobs reports for November, and expectations of a more dovish stance from the Federal Reserve under a new chair, kept hopes alive for further interest rate cuts next ‍year, adding to the risk-on mode this month.

On Monday, most tech and AI-linked stocks edged lower ⁠in premarket trading, with Nvidia down 1.1% and Oracle off 1.6%. Tesla was 1.4% lower after hitting a record high last week.

At 8:16 a.m. EST, Dow E-minis were down 45 points, or 0.09%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 17 points, or 0.24%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 107.50 points, or 0.42%.

U.S.-listed shares of precious ⁠metal miners also moved lower as prices of ​gold and silver retreated after ⁠back-to-back record highs last week.

Newmont was down 2.1%, Hecla Mining fell 3.5% and Barrick Mining was off 2%.

On the macro front, minutes from the ‍Fed's previous meeting and a weekly reading of jobless claims will be on the radar in an otherwise data-light week.

The S&P 500 ‌has added about 17% so far this year, as the frenzy to capitalize on artificial intelligence helped the U.S. benchmark overtake Europe's STOXX 600, despite having investors diversify away from U.S. stocks earlier in the ⁠year.

Markets will ​also be on the lookout ‍for a potential ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy were "getting a lot closer, maybe very close" ‍to an agreement to end the war.

Among other stocks, DigitalBridge soared 34% after Bloomberg News reported Japan's SoftBank was in advanced talks to acquire the digital infrastructure firm.