The major Asia-Pacific stock benchmarks......>

STOCKS: The major Asia-Pacific stock benchmarks have clung to the tails of

Wednesday's Wall St. surge, after the Dow added 1,000 points for the first time

in history on the back of a tumultuous Christmas Eve for stocks. Nothing in the

way of a standout catalyst was identified for Wednesday's rally. Several reasons

were cited including positive Christmas holiday words from Trump, WH econ.

Adviser Hassett stressing that Fed Chair Powell & Tsy Sec Mnuchin have total job

security, with chatter of year end rebalancing at play, in addition to over

extended moves pre-Christmas also being cited.

- Nikkei 225 (+4.0%), CSI 300 (+0.6%), Hang Seng (+0.6%) & ASX 200 (+1.8%) all

trade higher at writing.

- U.S. index futures have struggled during Asia-Pacific hours, but do operate

off of worst levels. S&P 500 futures (-8.25), DJIA futures (-65.00) NASDAQ 100

futures (-31.75).