Traders work on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange on December 9, 2024.
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. Negotiations will end in June 2025. Honda The company’s shares last rose 13.4% on Tuesday and were expected to post their best one-day gain since October 2008 after the company announced plans to buy back 24% of its outstanding shares by December 23 next year.
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. Asia-Pacific stock markets were mixed on Tuesday. Japanese Nikkei 225 Index Despite Honda’s gains, the company’s shares fell about 0.4%. At the same time, Hong Kong Hang Seng Index An increase of more than 1%.
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) Buffett’s biggest war chest
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway It currently holds $325 billion in cash — the largest amount the company has hoarded in absolute terms. Cash currently accounts for about 30% of Berkshire’s total assets, the highest proportion in 34 years, according to Oppenheimer. Buffett has sold large amounts of shares in Apple and Bank of America this year. Why does the 94-year-old legendary investor hold so much cash? Analysts also expressed their views.
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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