The television station will broadcast a speech by Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, December 18, 2024.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors the latest news wherever they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe Here.
What you need to know today
Mega car fusion
Nissan AND Honda have started official merger talks– both companies announced on Monday. The combined group has the potential to deliver revenue of 30 trillion yen ($191.4 billion) and operating profit of more than 3 trillion yen, Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe said. Honda shares fell 12.7% after Mibe's press conference.
Taiwan is a leader in Asian markets
As of December 23, Taiwan's Taiex has gained 28.85%, making it the leader the best-performing stock exchange in the Asia-Pacific region in 2024. The Taiex index's focus on technology and technology-related stocks helped improve its performance. A Taiwanese semiconductor company increased by 82.12% in 2024, and Foxconn – which is listed on the stock exchange as Hon Hai precision industry — advanced 77.51%.
A positive start to the holidays
American markets increased on Monday after good results of large technology companies. The New York Stock Exchange closes early Tuesday morning on Christmas Eve. regional Europe Stoxx 600 index added 0.14%. Volkswagen shares fell 2% as the automaker traded at around agreement with striking workers on Friday, resulting in 35,000 job losses by 2030.
UK GDP is not OK
The The British economy was not growing in the three months to September, according to revised figures from the Office for National Statistics published on Monday. Previous estimates assumed gross domestic product would be 0.1% in the third quarter. Earlier this month, ONS data showed the UK economy had unexpectedly worsened shrank by 0.1% in October.
(PRO) Stocks with growth potential in 2025
The S&P500 enjoyed two consecutive years when it gained over 20%. There are still stocks that have plenty of room to grow in 2025. Used CNBC Pro its inventory checkerand I found companies that have at least Potential growth of 30% in 2025based on the Wall Street price consensus.
The most important thing
US markets started the trading week in a festive atmosphere. The S&P500 gained 0.73%, a Dow Jones Industrial Averagerecovering from previous losses, it increased by 0.16%. The Nasdaq Composite increased by 0.98% thanks to strong performance of large technology companies such as Nvidia, Tesla AND Metaplatforms.
However, bitcoin proxy shares Micro-strategy fell 8.8% on the first day of the Nasdaq-100 index after the cryptocurrency fell below $93,000 on Monday.
That said, MicroStrategy is still among the best-performing U.S. technology companies, valued at at least $5 billion, according to FactSet data. The company's shares are up 426% this year, largely driven by the company's stock bitcoin stockwhich he started collecting in 2020.
With bitcoin's value rising following Donald Trump's election victory, MicroStrategy's bitcoin holdings are now worth approximately $42 billion. This is the basis for the company's market capitalization to skyrocket to $82 billion from about $1.1 billion since the company began buying bitcoin in bulk.
Investors looking to take advantage of MicroStrategy's explosive growth should note that the company's stock price is currently based on bitcoin prices.
The flip side of this is that if, for any reason, bitcoin prices fall – no matter how volatile the cryptocurrency may be – MicroStrategy stock could fall as well.
Trading this week is likely to be weak. US markets will close early on Tuesday and take a break on Wednesday for Christmas.
But light trading does not mean small movements in the markets. “As major market growth trends continue, we are not giving up on the potential for Santa Claus to appear at Broad & Wall this year,” Craig Johnson, chief market technician at Piper Sandler, said in a note.
Investors celebrating the festivities – as well as the S&P index's increase of 25.25% since the beginning of the year – may find an additional gift 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 Christmas!