Traders Play it Safe Amid Mixed Economic Indicators as US Equity Futures Hold Steady

09:14 AM EST, 12/23/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Traders played it safe pre-bell Tuesday ahead of delayed economic indicators on the US GDP and durable goods, with US equity futures staying in a holding pattern.

In the premarket, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 futures were all down around 0.2% in subdued trading activity during Christmas week.

Oil prices edged up slightly compared with Monday's gains after US President Donald Trump eased Venezuela war jitters. In a speech late Monday, flanked by his defense secretary, he focused on a new class of warships named after himself instead of the oil-rich South American country. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 0.2% to $58.10 per barrel and Brent Crude was up 0.2% to $62.12.

US economic growth, measured by gross domestic product, rose by 4.3% in Q3 after a 3.8% increase in the previous quarter, faster than the 3.3% gain expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

But October durable goods orders fell by 2.2%, compared with the anticipated drop of 1.5%.

Markets were mixed worldwide. In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed up 0.4% while the Shanghai Composite increased 0.7% and the Nikkei 225 was flat.

In Europe's afternoon session, the FTSE 100 was up 0.1% while Germany's Dax was down 0.1% in the afternoon session.

Among pre-bell winners was defense contractor Huntington Ingalls (HII), up 2.4% following Trump's announcement of launching a new class of US Navy ships named after himself. Ametek (AME) was up 1.4%.

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