Asia-Pacific markets were poised for modest gains ahead of a shortened holiday season and the final trading day of the year.

Markets in Hong Kong and Australia will be closed early for holidays, while markets in Japan and South Korea will be closed that day.

Australian S&P/ASX 200 Index The transaction was mediocre.

Hong Kong Hang Seng Index The futures index was at 25,880 points, slightly higher than the Hang Seng Index’s last closing price of 25,854.6 points.

this MSCI All Country World IndexThe index, which measures the performance of more than 2,500 large- and mid-cap stocks in developed and emerging markets, has risen more than 21% since the beginning of the year and hit a record high of 1,024.29 points on December 26, according to data from the London Stock Exchange.

U.S. stock index futures were flat in early Asian trade.

Overnight in America, S&P 500 Index It fell slightly, marking its third consecutive day of losses. The broader market index fell 0.14% to close at 6,896.24 points, while Nasdaq Composite Index It fell 0.24% to close at 23,419.08. this Dow Jones Industrial Average It fell 0.20% to close at 48,367.06.

Dragged down by declines in technology stocks, all three major stock indexes fell sharply at the beginning of the week. NVIDIA Lose games in a row, and so do other AI players Palantir Technology.

—CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Liz Napolitano contributed to this report.