Sawt Falasteen - US stocks take a breather, Asian bourses rise in post-Christmas trade

Japan's Nikkei index closed up 1.1 percent, boosted by comments from the Bank of Japan governor and share price gains for top-selling automaker Toyota.

China's plans for massive bond issuances in 2025 also bolstered investor sentiment.

"Even though many in the region are still shaking off a bit of a holiday hangover, with several markets closed for Boxing Day, Asian stocks opened higher, riding a favorable wave from China's financial bond juggernaut," said Stephen Innes from SPI Asset Management.

In New York, major indices veered in and out of positive territory in a sleepy post-Christmas session. The broad-based S&P 500 finished down less than 0.1 percent.

Large technology companies that have led the market in much of 2024 mostly took a breather. These included Netflix, Tesla and Amazon, all of which declined.

"What's interesting today is that we're seeing small stocks bounce back a little bit," said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers, noting that the Russell 2000 index put on 0.9 percent.

Holiday consumer data showed a 3.8-percent increase in US retail spending from November 1 to December 24, according to a Mastercard SpendingPulse review of a key period for retailers.

London Stockton, an analyst at Ned Davis Research, noted that the "Santa Claus rally could still be alive, with strong seasonality into the end of the year."

Stock markets have traditionally fared well in the last five trading days of the year and the first two in the new year, a trend known as the "Santa Claus rally."

Among a number of possible reasons advanced by experts include the festive holiday mood and purchasing ahead of the end of the tax year.

Innes said remarks from Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda in which he refrained from signaling a potential interest rate hike next month also "influenced bullish regional sentiments."

Japanese market heavyweight Toyota ended nearly six percent higher after reports in the Nikkei business daily said it aimed to double its return on equity -- a key measure of a company's financial performance.

Key figures around 2130 GMT -

New York - Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 43,325.80 (close)

New York - S&P 500: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 6,037.59 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 0.1 percent at 20,020.36 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.1 percent at 39,568.06 points (close)

Hang Seng: UP 1.1 percent at 20,098.29 points (Tuesday close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,398.08 points (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0424 from $1.0414 on Tuesday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2526 from $1.2538

Dollar/yen: UP at 158.00 yen from 157.06 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 83.19 pence from 83.05 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $69.62 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.4 percent at $73.26 per barrel

Y.Shaath--SF-PST