Stocks: 5 things to know before the open

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Could we see one last Christmas miracle before markets shut for the holiday season?

Stocks just might close out Christmas Eve at fresh record highs.

Here are the five things you need to know before the opening bell rings in New York:

1. Trading on Christmas Eve: U.S. stock futures are relatively flat ahead of the open, though there is a positive bias in the markets.

This comes after the Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 hit record highs Tuesday, notching their fifth straight day of gains. The Dow surpassed 18,000 points for the first time ever.

This year, the Dow and S&P 500 have surged by nearly 9% and 13%, respectively.

Although the Nasdaq closed with a small loss Tuesday, it's jumped by just over 14% since the start of the year.

It's widely expected that trading volumes will be low Wednesday as many market participants have already left for the holiday season.

The markets close early at 1 p.m. today. Markets are also closed for the Christmas holiday on Thursday.

The CNNMoney Fear & Greed index is currently in neutral.

Related: 2014 was a helluva good year for stocks

2. Corporate mover -- Sony: Shares in Sony (SNE) jumped by 4% in Japan and could be on the move Wednesday in New York.

On Tuesday, the company said it will release the controversial film 'The Interview' at a limited number of theaters starting on Christmas Day, despite threats and attacks from hackers.

Sony also announced it will start offering its Playstation streaming service on a number of Samsung Smart TVs starting next year.

3. Russian markets steady: Russian traders took difficult news in their stride after Standard & Poor's warned there's a 50% chance the nation's debt will be downgraded to junk.

Stock markets are relatively steady. The ruble is edging up after taking a 40% dive over the course of the year.

4. International markets overview: A few European markets are open Wednesday but trading is mixed early in the day.

Asian markets closed with mixed results. The Nikkei in Japan jumped by 1.2% while the Shanghai Composite index dropped by 2%.

5. Economics: The U.S. Department of Labor will announce weekly jobless claims data at 8:30 a.m.

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