Wall Street to see subdued open on Christmas Eve

Wall Street is expected to see a lukewarm open to the shortened Christmas Eve trading day, with the Dow Jones, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq up a handful of points. The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq with shut up shop at 1pm Eastern Time as traders unwind into the festive period. In Washington, the Democrats are pushing to approve the US$2,000 stimulus cheques proposed by Donald Trump. It would plump the US$600 payments for individuals approved as part of an US$892bn emergency package on Monday. House Democrats are expected to bring forward a new bill on Thursday, which is hoped to be passed by unanimous consent. In company news, International Business Machines Corp (NYSE:IBM) has agreed to pay US$24.25mln to resolve two investigations by the US Federal Communications Commission over subsidies the company was awarded to connect schools and libraries to broadband internet networks. Three things to watch for Thursday: There is not much happening today as investors settle in for the festive period, however some traders may be keeping an eye on Brexit negotiations across the Atlantic, with a last-minute deal expected to emerge sometime today With this in mind, traders may want to keep an eye on the currency markets, with the pound having a strong session rising 0.7% to US$135.9 against the dollar Also in focus will be e-commerce firm Alibaba after it was hit with an antitrust investigation by Chinese regulators