5 Things to Know Before the Stock Market Opens | Global News Avenue

The sprint to 2024 has arrived. It is expected to be a relatively quiet week, with shortened trading hours tomorrow and a day off on Wednesday. Stocks rose on Friday, ending the week lower, with futures mixed; traders are eyeing the possibility of a ‘Santa Claus rally’; the situation in Washington, D.C. stabilized over the weekend, and President Biden signed a temporary funding measure to avoid The government is shutting down; Honda and Nissan are moving toward major corporate mergers; some new stocks are joining the Nasdaq 100. Here’s what investors need to know today and in the future.

1. U.S. stock futures are mixed after a week of declines

U.S. stock index futures were mixed early Monday. S&P 500 Index Futures were roughly flat, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures prices are lower, and Nasdaq Futures are rising. All three indicators Close higher on Fridayrose 1% or more but also ended with a weekly loss, in part due to investor concerns Fed Amid stubborn inflation, rate cuts in 2025 may not be as deep as previously hoped. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields slightly higher, recently trading at 4.54%. Oil and gold futures were slightly lower. The dollar was higher against a basket of foreign currencies. Bitcoin rose 1% to around $96,000.

2. Relaxed schedule – some downtime will follow

Perhaps not surprisingly, given that the winter holidays are just around the corner, there isn’t much to focus on today (or this week) on the economic or business calendar. That’s not to say there’s nothing – we have a full rundown of each week’s events here for you— but after a busy schedule of corporate earnings, economic indicators and last week’s Fed meeting, things are certainly looking easier in the coming days. Some of the things that are happening are nothing happened. Stock and bond trading will close early tomorrow and will be closed on Wednesday for the Christmas holiday. Some traders may pay attention to so called santa claus rallydescribes the upward trend of stocks during the five trading days of one year and the first two trading days of the next year. In this case, that means an extension that begins after today’s close.

3. Meanwhile, in Washington…

After some drama in Washington, some clarity emerged over the weekend, erasing a degree of clarity from investors’ calculations heading into the final trading days of 2024 and before Donald Trump takes office next month for a second term as president. political uncertainty. President Biden Sign the stopgap bill That would keep the federal government funded through March and avoid a shutdown — though it also raises new questions, including possible Republican opposition to some of Trump’s policies, current House Speaker Mike Johnson’s stance and the question of the debt ceiling. future.

4. Bundling motors in large cars is closer to reality

Next year looks like it could bring one of the biggest auto industry deals. Honda and Nissan said on Monday they “signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Start discussing and considering business integration between the two companies. ” Their statement solidified Reports and Statements Starting last week, the two Japanese companies will discuss forming a joint holding company. The combined company will be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in August 2026, according to announcements from the two companies, which detailed the reasons for the collaboration, including technology, supply chain efficiency and cost savings. Shares of both companies rose in Japanese trading.

5. Changes to the Nasdaq 100 Index take effect today

Some high-profile index changes take effect this morning, with MicroStrategy (Magnetic transmission technology), Palantir Technologies (PLTR) and Axon Enterprise (axon) — whose shares are up about 470%, 370% and 140% year-to-date, respectively — joined the Nasdaq 100 before the open. These changes will coincide with the removal of Super Micro Computer (SMCI), modern (messenger RNA) and Illumina (ILMN), announced earlier this month. They follow several other recent high-profile index moves, including two changes to the S&P 500 and the addition of Nvidia (NVDA) joins Dow Industries, replacing Intel (international trade center).