Hot Features
Premium
Register for Free to get streaming real-time quotes, interactive charts, live options flow, and more.
With the Nasdaq and S&P 500 hitting new record highs on Friday and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing just shy of them the question as the year’s second week prepares to open is just how long the Trump rally can go on? Futures are indicating a tendency towards a mixed opening for Wall Street’s major indices with Dow Jones futures down 16 points, the S&P 2 points off and Nasdaq 100 futures dipping by 1.25 points.
The main event on the horizon for U.S. and global markets this week is Wednesday’s Trump speech, when the President-elect is expected to provide insight into his planned global trade policies, particularly concerning China, as well as tax reforms and infrastructure spending. Fed presidents Eric Rosengren and Dennis Lockhart will also give speeches today to open a week heavy on expected Fed statements. Boston Fed chief Rosengren will make a key-note speech to the Connecticut Business & Industry Association’s Economic Summit at 09:00 Eastern Time while Atlanta Fed President Lockhart will discuss monetary policy at 12:40 ET at the Atlanta Rotary Club.
Economic data set for release today include December’s Labor Market Conditions Index and the Fed’s consumer credit data for November, forecast for $18.5 billion up from last year’s $16 billion.
There seems to be a high chance the Dow Jones will pass the 20,000 point mark either today or at some point later this week, with futures indicating that it will open at 19,950, needing a modest 0.25% gain to hit the promised land. Touching 20,000, while unlikely to excite institutional investors too much, could help provoke fresh optimism among retail investors which might go some way to extending the index’s current bull run. Results coming out as the 4th quarter earnings season will have a strong influence as markets need to be confident of the health of corporate profits if they are to kick the index to fresh highs.
In individual company news, fast food stocks and China are a theme today with Taco Bell owner Yum announcing the opening of the first ever Taco Bell in China and McDonalds reportedly selling a majority stake in its China operations to Citic Capital (52%) and Carlyle Group (28%) in a deal that values the assets at $2.1 billion.
