U.S. stock-index futures posted small gains Friday as investors prepared for the final trading session of 2011 with the S&P 500 Index standing in marginally positive territory for the year.
Markets paid little heed to HSBC’s China purchasing managers index for December, which fell to 48.7 from an earlier estimate of 49.0. A reading of less than 50 indicates that activity in the manufacturing sector contracted.
World markets:
Nikkei 8,455 +56.46 +0.67%
Hang Seng 18,421 +22.77 +0.12%
Shanghai Composite 2,199 +25.86 +1.19%
FTSE 5,572 +5.51 +0.10%
CAC 3,126 -1.94 -0.06%
DAX5,898 +49.57 +0.85%
Crude oil: $98,91 (-0,7%).
Gold: $1566,20 (+1,6%).