On Wednesday, December 18, 2024, a television station broadcast live the speech of Federal Reserve Chairman Powell on the New York Stock Exchange.
Michael Nagel | Bloomberg | Getty Images
This report comes from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open keeps investors updated on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.
What you need to know today
Big car merger
Nissan and Honda The two companies announced on Monday that they have begun formal merger discussions. Honda Chief Executive Mibe Toshihiro Mibe said the combined group has the potential to achieve revenue of 30 trillion yen ($191.4 billion) and operating profit of more than 3 trillion yen. After Mibe held a press conference, Honda’s stock price soared 12.7%.
Taiwan ranks among the top markets in Asia
As of December 23, Taiwan Taiex has risen by 28.85%, becoming the best-performing stock market in the Asia-Pacific region in 2024. British Semiconductor surge 82.12% in 2024, while Foxconn – which trades at Hon Hai Precision Industry — up 77.51%.
Positive start to the holiday
U.S. stocks rose on Monday on strong performance from big tech stocks. The New York Stock Exchange was closed early Tuesday for Christmas Eve. European regional Stoke 600 The index rose 0.14%. Volkswagen shares down 2% as automaker hits target trade On Friday, workers went on strike over plans to cut 35,000 jobs in 2030.
UK GDP is not very good
The UK economy failed to expand in the three months to September, according to revised data released by the Office for National Statistics on Monday. Gross domestic product was previously expected to grow 0.1% in the third quarter. Earlier this month, data from the Office for National Statistics showed that the British economy unexpectedly shrank by 0.1% in October.
(PRO) Stocks with room to grow in 2025
this S&P 500 Index It has increased by more than 20% for two consecutive years. There’s still plenty of room for growth in 2025.
bottom line
U.S. markets started the trading week with holiday cheer. this S&P 500 Index up 0.73% Dow Jones Industrial AverageIt recovered earlier losses and rose 0.16%. this Nasdaq Index Since large tech companies such as NVIDIA, Tesla and meta platform.
However, Bitcoin proxy stocks micro strategy Cryptocurrency prices fell below $93,000 on Monday, sending the Nasdaq 100 down 8.8% on its first day.
Still, MicroStrategy remains one of the top-performing U.S. technology companies with a market capitalization of $5 billion or more, according to FactSet. The company’s stock has soared 426% so far this year, largely thanks to the Bitcoin inventory it accumulated from 2020.
MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin holdings are now worth about $42 billion as the price of Bitcoin rose following the election of Donald Trump. This is the basis on which the company’s market capitalization has surged from about $1.1 billion to $82 billion since it began buying Bitcoin in large quantities.
Investors looking to take advantage of MicroStrategy’s explosive rise should remember that the company’s shares are currently trading on the back of the price of Bitcoin.
On the other hand, if the price of Bitcoin plummets for any reason (although cryptocurrencies can be quite volatile), MicroStrategy’s stock price could also fall.
Trading is likely to be light this week. U.S. markets will be closed early on Tuesday and will be closed on Wednesday for Christmas.
But light trading doesn’t mean the market is less volatile. “With the market’s primary uptrend still intact, we are not giving up on the possibility of Santa Claus coming to Broad & Wall this year,” Piper Sandler chief market technician Craig Johnson said in a note.
As investors celebrate the holidays — and the S&P Index is up 25.25% so far this year — they may find extra gifts under the Christmas tree.
—CNBC’s Yun Li, MacKenzie Sigalos and Ari Levy contributed to this report.
The CNBC Daily Open will be on hiatus and will return next year. happy holidays!
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