Investing.com – U.S. futures pointed to a slightly higher opening bell on the first trading day of the year, despite growing geopolitical concerns.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 futures rose six points or 0.22% as of 6:48 AM ET (11:48 GMT) while Dow futures increased 35 points or 0.14%. Meanwhile tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures was up over seven points or 0.12%.
Geopolitical tensions around the world could leave markets on edge. Iranian protesters attacked police stations over the weekend as unrest in the region spreads. Meanwhile in North Korea, Kim Jong-Un warned the U.S. that he had a nuclear button on his desk that he was ready to use if his country was threatened. Tensions between North Korea and the West have intensified in the last few months, with some worried repercussions sought by U.S. President Donald Trump against the communist country could lead to a nuclear war.
General Electric (NYSE:GE) was among the top gainers in pre-market trading, gaining 0.57%. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) rose 0.07% while telecommunications firm Nokia (HE:NOKIA) surged 1.29% and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) increased 1.06%. Shares in cloud-computing firm Xunlei Ltd Adr (NASDAQ:XNET) were up 2.27%.
Elsewhere Riot Blockchain Inc (NASDAQ:RIOT) fell 4.93% as falling Bitcoin prices weigh on the firm. Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:SMI) decreased 4.206% while STMicroelectronics NV ADR (NYSE:STM) slipped 0.60%.
In economic news, the December manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) is scheduled for release at 9:45 AM ET (14:45 GMT).
In Europe stocks were down. Germany’s DAX fell 89 points or 0.69% while in France the CAC 40 decreased 47 points or 0.89% and in London, the FTSE 100 inched down 35 points or 0.46%. Meanwhile the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 was down 26 points or 0.76% while Spain’s IBEX 35 lost 11 points or 0.11%.
In commodities, gold futures rallied 0.24% to $1,312.40 a troy ounce while crude oil futures inched down 0.02% to $60.41 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.48% to 91.55.