09:09 AM EST, 12/29/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Despite reports of strong tailwinds on the horizon, traders opted to mostly retreat at the start of the week, with US equity futures down in premarket activity Monday.

Dow Jones futures were down 0.2% while S&P 500 futures fell 0.4%, and Nasdaq futures slipped 0.7% at the start of a week curtailed by the closure of world markets Thursday to celebrate the New Year's Day holiday.

Despite the pessimistic mood before the opening bell, many of Wall Street's top prognosticators voiced optimism for 2026. In separate Reuters and Bloomberg reports, top economists and analysts predicted that US tax cuts, stimulus initiatives, and interest rate reductions would likely give the American economy a boost, temper inflation, and increase employment next year.

"Pessimism is on the out right now," Bloomberg quoted stock analyst Ed Yardeni as saying.

On the economic calendar, a report on pending US home sales in November is scheduled for shortly after the opening bell. Analysts expect a modest 0.8% increase, down from 1.9% in October.

Oil prices jumped following reports of mutual attacks on Russian and Ukrainian energy facilities that damped hopes for peace in eastern Europe. West Texas Intermediate rose 2.4% to $58.11 per barrel while the benchmark North Sea Brent crude rose 2.2% to $61.58 per barrel.

Across the world, markets were mixed. Asian stocks were trending down, with the Nikkei 225 closing down 0.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng down 0.7% while the Shanghai Composite edging up 0.04%.

London't FTSE 100 was up slightly by 0.01% while Germany's Dax was 0.02% lower, France's CAC 40 was up 0.2% and Spain's IBEX 35 was up 0.07%.

Among winners was DigitalBridge ( DBRG/PJ ) up 9.5% pre-bell following news SoftBank aims to acquire it for $4 billion. Coupang ( CPNG ) shares were up 2.5% after announcing it would pay 1.685 trillion Korean won ($1.18 billion) to compensate those impacted by a major data breach at the e-commerce platform.

Energy Fuels ( UUUU ) was up 2.6% in the premarket after reporting that it exceeded its 2025 uranium production and sales guidance.

Among losers, Kaixin ( KXIN ) shares were down 16%, shaving the previous session's gains. AXT (AXTI) stock was 8.3% lower after the company said it priced an underwritten public offering of 7.1 million shares at $12.25 each, to raise about $87 million. Sibanye Stillwater ( SBSW ) shares were down 5.7% after Friday's gain.