This will affect the last trading day of the year

Roger Berntsen, an analyst at Nordnet, believes Oslo Borse will open 0.3 percent lower, or around that. [-0,7, 0,1] percent.

“Very little happened on Asian bourses on Friday, so there is little momentum to be gained from that region today. The South Korean stock exchange was also closed last night. It is natural to assume that most investors are now looking forward to next year having left behind “One of the best stock market years in history,” he writes in his morning report.

Japan is the best in Asia

There is a focus on electric cars in Asia after Chinese company Xiaomi showed off its first electric car last night. Japan delivered the best in 2023 among Asian markets.

The last trading day for Asia this year was mixed. Many investors focused on electric car companies after Xiaomi unveiled its first electric car last night. CNBC reports.

The stock fell 4.3 percent after the electric car news.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index remained relatively flat, while China's CSI 300 Index rose 0.2 percent. China and Hong Kong are among the biggest losers this year among Asian markets.

Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.2 percent, but the index is up 28.5 percent so far this year, making it the best-performing market in Asia.

The broader Topix index fell 0.2 after gaining more than 25 percent in 2023.

South Korean markets closed on Friday, with the KOSPI rising 18.7 percent for the year and the KOSDAC index jumping 27.5 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.3 per cent, but is still up 7.8 per cent on the year.

First fall in two years

Oil prices are expected to end 2023 lower by about 10 percent, which is the first annual decline in two years. This comes after geopolitical concerns, production cuts and global measures to stave off inflation led to sharp price fluctuations, according to Reuters.

New numbers from the US Department of Energy's statistics wing show that US crude oil inventories fell by a much more than expected by 6.9 million to 436.6 million barrels last week. According to Trading Economics, a decline of 2.7 million barrels was expected.

The price of North Sea oil was relatively stable in the morning hours, rising by only 0.04 percent to $77.50 per barrel. per barrel, down about one dollar from its price at the close of trading yesterday. US West Texas Intermediate crude is trading at $71.95, down 0.05 percent.

Wall Street

Wall Street ended trading flat on Thursday, closing in on its ninth straight week of gains on the New York Stock Exchange.

Technology stocks fell on Thursday, despite the Nasdaq moving toward its best year since 2003, after rising more than 44 percent so far this year, according to Reuters. Yahoo Finance.

Here's how things went with trend-setting indicators on the penultimate trading day of the year: