S&P 500 futures are little changed as index nears all-time high: Live updates

S&P 500 futures are flat Wednesday as investors eyed the benchmark index's approach to a record high.

Futures tied to the broad market index and Nasdaq 100 were both little changed. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures was also trading near the flatline.

The moves follow a winning day on Wall Street to kick off the final trading week of 2023. The stock market was closed on Monday in observance of Christmas Day.

Both the Dow and S&P 500 added 0.4% each. That put the latter within 0.5% of its closing high, which was seen in January 2022.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.5%. Meanwhile, the more concentrated Nasdaq 100 rose 0.6%, clinching an all-time high and record closing level at 16,878.46.

These gains add to what's already been a strong year for the stock market. With just three sessions left in 2023's trading year, the Dow and S&P 500 are poised to end 2023 higher by 13% and 24%, respectively. The Nasdaq Composite has jumped 44%, outperforming amid mega-cap technology's rebound and the artificial intelligence craze.

Stocks are in the thick of what's referred to as the "Santa Claus rally," a period comprised of the last five trading days of an ending year and first two of a new one. The S&P 500 has risen about 1.3% over this timeframe on average, according to data going back to 1950 from the Stock Trader's Almanac.

There's been "enthusiasm" in the market recently, said Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute. And "it doesn't surprise me that it would continue this week."

Still, he said the market may be overly optimistic, especially if the Federal Reserve begins cutting interest rates later than traders anticipate. The market is pricing in a more than 70% probability of a decrease to interest rates at the central bank's March meeting, according to CMEGroup's FedWatch tool.

Investors will watch on Wednesday for economic data on the manufacturing industry.