A television station broadcasts a speech by Jerome Powell, Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, United States, on Wednesday, December 18, 2024.
Michael Nagel | Bloomberg | Getty Images
This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, the international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open keeps investors informed 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
Huge car fusion
April and Honda I started Formal merger discussionsThe two companies announced on Monday. Honda CEO Toshihiro Mebe said the combined group has the potential to generate revenues of 30 trillion yen ($191.4 billion) and operating profits of more than 3 trillion yen. Honda shares rose 12.7% after Mibi's press conference.
Taiwan leads Asian markets
As of December 23, Taiwan's Taiex Index was up 28.85%, making it the benchmark Best performing stock markets in the Asia Pacific region In 2024. Taiex's focus on technology and technology-related stocks helped boost its performance. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company rose 82.12% in 2024, and Foxconn – which trades as Hon Hai Precision Industry – Advanced 77.51%.
A positive start to the holidays
American markets It rose on Monday Against the backdrop of a strong showing in large technology stocks. The New York Stock Exchange closes early Tuesday on Christmas Eve. Regional Europe Stokes 600 index 0.14% added. Volkswagen shares lost 2% as the automaker reached a level deal With workers striking on Friday, which would mean the elimination of 35,000 jobs by 2030.
UK GDP is not doing well
the The UK economy failed to expand In the three months to September, according to revised figures from the Office for National Statistics, published on Monday. Previous estimates had pegged third-quarter GDP at 0.1%. Earlier this month, data from the Office for National Statistics showed that the UK economy had fallen unexpectedly Shrink by 0.1% In October.
(PRO) Stocks that have room to grow in 2025
the Standard & Poor's 500 It enjoyed two consecutive years when it gained more than 20%. And there are still stocks that have plenty of room to grow in 2025. I used CNBC Pro Sort stocks tool found companies that have at least Potential rise of 30% in 2025based on price targets agreed upon on Wall Street.
Bottom line
US markets started the trading week amid holiday cheer. the Standard & Poor's 500 It rose by 0.73% and Dow Jones Industrial Averagerecovering from previous losses, rising by 0.16%. the Nasdaq Composite It added 0.98% on the back of strong performance from large technology companies such as Nvidia, Tesla and Meta platforms.
However, bitcoin proxy shares Accurate strategy It fell 8.8% on its first day on the Nasdaq-100, after the cryptocurrency's price fell below $93,000 on Monday.
However, MicroStrategy is still among the best-performing U.S. technology companies valued at $5 billion or more, according to FactSet data. Its shares are up 426% so far this year, thanks mostly to the company's stock Bitcoin stockwhich I started collecting in 2020.
With Bitcoin surging after Donald Trump's election victory, MicroStrategy's bitcoin holding is now worth around $42 billion. It's the basis for the company's market capitalization to have swelled to $82 billion from about $1.1 billion since it started buying bitcoin in bulk.
Investors looking to capitalize on MicroStrategy's meteoric rise should remember that the company's stock price is currently trading against the backdrop of Bitcoin prices.
The flip side of that is that if Bitcoin prices collapse for any reason — as volatile as the cryptocurrency is — MicroStrategy shares could falter as well.
Trading is likely to be thin this week. Markets in the US will close early Tuesday and take a break on Wednesday for Christmas.
But light trading does not mean small movements in the markets. “As initial bullish market trends continue, we are not giving up on the possibility of Santa Claus coming to Broad & Wall this year,” Craig Johnson, chief market technician at Piper Sandler, said in a note.
As investors celebrate the festivities — and the S&P is up 25.25% year-to-date — they may find an extra gift under the tree.
CNBC's Yun Li, Mackenzie Sigalos and Ari Levy contributed to this report.
CNBC Daily Open will be on hiatus and will return next year. Happy holidays!
