Dow futures rise as China’s reopening fuels year-end market optimism By Investing.com

By Daniel Shvartsman

Investing.com – Dow futures rose to start the last week of the year, as optimism over China’s restrictive COVID policies ending sparked hope of a Santa rally.

were up 230 points or 0.7% at 06:20 ET (11:20 GMT) to 33407. also traded 0.7% higher, while were up 0.65%.

Chinese officials announced that quarantining would no longer be required for inbound travelers as of January 8th, 2023. Only a negative PCR test would be required, a decrease in requirements that has already led to a from Chinese consumers.

The holiday week should see thin trading, with the economic calendar containing only a few events today, including the and .

In pre-market trading, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:) dropped 3.6% as that it would extend its light production schedule in Shanghai. Southwest Airlines Company (NYSE:) dropped 3% as it dealt with flight cancellations in the wake of the recent disruptive weather in the U.S.

Signs that the China news or inertia would support a risk-on rally could be seen in commodity markets, with jumping 1.1% and up 1% in early morning trading. continued its strong year-end momentum, trading 0.7% higher. The also rose 0.3% against the dollar, while the dropped 0.3%. The rose 0.8% in early trading.

AMC Entertainment Holdings Preferred Units (NYSE:) continued to rise in the pre-market, up 27% to 2.2, while the common stock AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:) shares dropped 7.7% pre-market, as the arbitrage between the two securities continued to close off of a to convert units into shares.