U.S. natural gas futures settled higher in light pre-Christmas trade, with the January contract soaring ahead of Fridayβs expiration as weather forecasts pointed to a cold start for the New Year.
Oil was firmer in Europe but investors are awaiting a U.S. initial jobless claim print due on Thursday and the start of the new year for fresh catalysts, with Donald Trump taking office on Jan. 20.
U.S. stocks settled higher, in a holiday-shortened pre-Christmas trading session with all three major indexes gaining for the third trading day in a row.
A signature piece of the Biden administrationβs effort to reduce the $1.6 trillion student-loan burden is now in limbo, hitting public-service workers especially.