Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were down 0.3% in recent trading, while those linked to the Nasdaq slipped 0.4%. The major indexes rose on Monday and Tuesday ahead of yesterday's Christmas break, a positive start to the Santa Clause rally that investors hope for, as the U.S. market rebounded from last week's downturn .

Some of the biggest winners were mega-cap tech stocks, with Tesla up by 6% while Broadcom, Netflix, and Amazon each gained about 2%.

The Santa Claus rally got off to a strong start with Tesla leading the Nasdaq higher. Nvidia just topped a buy point.

Asian shares were mostly higher Thursday in thin post-Christmas holiday trading, while oil prices rose. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.2% lower after markets were closed Wednesday for the Christmas holiday.

Indexes fell in their first trading day after Christmas as traders hope for a so-called Santa Clause rally to propel markets higher into the new year.

Stocks could come under a little pressure but are on course for solid annual gains as the year’s end approaches.