MARKET WRAPS
Watch For:
Chicago Business Barometer -- ISM-Chicago Business Survey --
Chicago PMI for December
Today's Top Headlines/Must Reads:
- What Did Wall Street Get Right About Markets This Year? Not
Much
- The Fed Alone Can't Make Gold Sparkle in 2024
- Banks Aren't Fighting Private Credit-They're Enabling It
Opening Call:
Stock futures were on the up Friday in one final push to end the
year.
The focus on the final trading day of the year will be on
whether the S&P 500 can set a new record closing high. The
index was within 0.3% of its all-time high, set in January
2022.
All three indexes were on pace for a ninth consecutive weekly
gain. For the S&P 500, that would mark the longest streak since
January 2004.
Premarket Movers
Alphabet was up 0.2% after it agreed to settle privacy
litigation, according to a report. A trial, set for February, over
allegations Google had been tracking internet searches made by
millions of users, has been placed on hold, Reuters reported,
saying lawyers for Google and for consumers had reached a
preliminary settlement.
Boeing said all of its 737 MAX aircraft operated by Chinese
carriers have returned to service having been grounded in 2019 in
the wake of two crashes, according to Reuters citing social media.
The stock was down 0.3%.
Grand Canyon Education was down 5.9% premarket after the FTC
said Wednesday it has started legal action, MarketWatch reported.
The FTC alleged it and partner Grand Canyon University had deceived
some prospective students about university program costs.
Forex:
The dollar recovered after falling to a five-month low against a
basket of currencies this week, helped by a rebound in Treasury
yields following a weak sale of 7-year Treasury bonds, and could
rise further in early 2024, Swissquote said.
"I wouldn't be surprised to see the dollar recover against most
majors in the first weeks of next year."
Either European Central Bank officials talking of possible
interest-rate cuts and/or the Federal Reserve retreating from
rate-cut talk could see EUR/USD ease, Swissquote added.
Energy:
Oil prices moved higher, but were still set for a weekly decline
as demand concerns hit key benchmarks.
Despite the move higher, prices over the week were still set to
fall 1.4% and 1.8% for Brent and WTI, respectively.
Brent and WTI were both also set to end the year roughly 10%
lower, as slow economic growth slashes demand for oil.
Metals:
Base metals prices were higher while gold edged lower, with thin
trading during the festive period not sending a signal one way or
the other.
Metals have had a volatile year, with gold hitting a new record
high, while shifts in demand have pushed and pulled base metals
both sharply up and down.
Overall, copper is set to end the year just over 3% higher,
while aluminum is roughly flat. Gold is up 14%, reflecting the
stellar run the precious metal has had this year.
TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES
JD.com Wins Antimonopoly Suit Against Alibaba
Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com said it won a lawsuit against
rival Alibaba Group Holding, which was fined 1 billion yuan ($140.7
million) over monopolistic practices.
Zhejiang Tmall Network, Zhejiang Tmall Technology and Alibaba
Group were found to have abused market dominance and engaged in
monopolistic practices, causing severe damages to JD.com, it said
in a statement Friday, citing a Beijing court ruling.
The New Star on the Political Scene: The Chip Industry
Semiconductors have played the starring role in state visits.
Nvidia's chief executive was feted by heads of state like a
visiting dignitary. Government delegations have shuttled around the
globe hobnobbing with chip makers.
For an industry that suddenly finds itself as a geopolitical
showpiece, the attention is a mixed bag.
How I, and Everyone Else, Got 2023 So Wrong
It is good practice to learn from your mistakes, but even better
is to learn from other people's mistakes. My biggest error in 2023
was the same as everyone else's: being in the consensus that the
fastest rate hikes in 40 years would cause a recession. They
didn't, but there is still deep disagreement on why-and the
direction of your portfolio depends on the answer.
As a reminder, at this time in 2022, predictions of recession
were the norm-and on some measures stronger than they had ever been
outside an actual recession. I wasn't persuaded by the economic
models, because they paid no heed to the effects of the pandemic on
supply and demand. But I thought it unlikely that the nascent stock
rally would continue, because it was a bet on inflation's coming
down without the economy being hit. How likely is that? Not very.
Except that it happened.
Civil War Gaffe Undercuts Nikki Haley's 2024 Pitch
Republican Nikki Haley, who until this week had run a
disciplined and largely error-free presidential campaign, has been
forced into an uncomfortable and unexpected new chore: doing
cleanup on a blunder related to the Civil War and slavery.
The former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador
was forced into defensive mode after she omitted slavery from an
answer she gave at a New Hampshire campaign event where she was
asked what prompted the Civil War. Her long-winded response avoided
giving the answer to a basic question most learned in grade school,
teeing up a barrage of criticism from political foes.
Maine Becomes Second State to Bar Trump From 2024 Primary
Ballot
Maine's top election official Thursday barred Donald Trump from
appearing on the state's primary ballot, the second time a state
knocked the Republican former president off its ballot and
escalating a national legal effort to disqualify him from
office.
In a 34-page written decision, Maine Secretary of State Shenna
Bellows, a Democrat, said the Constitution bars a second Trump term
because of his actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the
U.S. Capitol following his loss in the 2020 presidential
election.
Write to ina.kreutz@wsj.com
TODAY IN CANADA
Earnings:
Nothing scheduled
Economic Calendar (ET):
Nothing scheduled
Expected Major Events for Friday
06:00/RUS: Dec Russian Manufacturing PMI
06:00/RUS: Dec Russian Services PMI
07:00/UK: Dec Nationwide House Price Index
07:45/FRA: Nov Housing starts
09:30/UK: Nov Capital issuance statistics
13:30/US: U.S. Weekly Export Sales
14:45/US: Dec Chicago Business Barometer - ISM-Chicago Business
Survey - Chicago PMI
20:00/US: Nov Agricultural Prices
All times in GMT. Powered by Kantar Media and Dow Jones.
Expected Earnings for Friday
Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment Inc (CSSE) is expected
to report $-0.77 for 3Q.
Clearday Inc (CLRD) is expected to report for 3Q.
Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc (INFIQ) is expected to report $0.03
for 3Q.
National American University Holding Inc (NAUH) is expected to
report for 2Q.
Outlook Therapeutics Inc (OTLK) is expected to report $-0.05 for
4Q.
SIFCO Industries (SIF) is expected to report for 4Q.
Powered by Kantar Media and Dow Jones.
ANALYST RATINGS ACTIONS
Karuna Therapeutics Cut to Neutral From Overweight by JP
Morgan
WisdomTree Raised to Buy From Neutral by Northcoast Research
This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal
newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 29, 2023 06:30 ET (11:30 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
FTSE 100
Index Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
FTSE 100
Index Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024