Shares set to open down on quiet day Local stocks appear set to open little changed on the final trading day of the calendar year. SPI futures down 10 at 5316 points at 7.24am AEST AUD at 89.12 US cents at 7.24am AEST On Wall St, S&P500 -0.04%, Dow Jones +0.08%, Nasdaq +0.01% In Europe, Eurostoxx -0.34% , FTSE100 -0.29%, CAC -0.05%, DAX -0.39% Spot gold $1202.06 an ounce Brent oil $US111.07 per barrel The Australian dollar is trading at US89.18 at 3.09am AEST, compared with Monday's local close of US88.51. The euro is broadly higher, driven in part by euro zone banks drawing back foreign-held assets before year-end. The currency was up 0.4 per cent against the US dollar at $US1.3795, having shot up as high as $US1.3894 in thin year-end trade on Friday, its highest since October 2011. It has risen more than 4 per cent against the greenback in 2013 and is set for a second straight year of gains. Global growth hopes lifted copper and aluminum to four- and two-month highs. Aluminum clung to a 0.8 per cent rise but copper give up its earlier gains, last down 0.03 per cent. Safe-haven gold fell 0.6 per cent to $US1205.80 an ounce as the precious metal trudged toward its biggest annual loss in over three decades. In the oil market, Brent crude fell 88 cents or 0.8 per cent at $US111.30 a barrel, while US oil futures shed 56 cents or 0.6 per cent at $US99.76. US stocks were little changed in afternoon trade after the S&P 500 index ended its best two-week advance in five months and housing data was weaker-than-forecast. The benchmark S&P 500 had risen 3.7 per cent over the prior two weeks, the index's best fortnight since July. The S&P has soared 29 per cent this year and is on pace for its best year since 1997, powered largely by the central bank's stimulus measures. The Dow has jumped 25.8 per cent and the Nasdaq 37.7 per cent this year. The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed last month, rose by 0.2 per cent to 101.7. Contracts were 1.6 per cent below last November's levels. European stocks edged higher, consolidating after two weeks of strong gains that have pulled markets to five-year highs, with the session expected to be quiet as it fell in the midst of a seasonal holiday period. Asia The Nikkei stock average rose to a fresh six-year high to close out 2013 with a 57 per cent annual gain, its biggest in more than 40 years on the back of aggressive economic stimulus by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The Nikkei rose for a ninth day to end 0.7 per cent higher at 16,291.31 on Monday, its longest winning streak since July 2009. Mazda Motor was the Nikkei's best performer in 2013, gaining 213 per cent. Nikon was the worst performer this year, down 20.5 per cent. Hong Kong shares ended little changed in tepid trade on Monday. The Hang Seng Index ended flat at 23,244.87 points, while the China Enterprises Index of the top Chinese listings in Hong Kong fell 0.6 per cent. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.2 per cent to 2097.53. The index has slumped 7.4 per cent this year on concern an economic slowdown is curbing profits and higher money-market rates are boosting lending costs for companies. What happened on Monday