Here are the key news investors need to start the trading day:
1. Market leftovers
U.S. stocks will have a shortened trading day on Friday after the market closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving. Stock prices fell at the start of the holiday as some investors appeared to reduce their holdings in major technology companies. Nevertheless, both of them are Dow Jones Industrial Average And S&P 500 are just below all-time highs. Wednesday provided some new clues about the Federal Reserve's future policy stance, as the annual inflation rate of 2.3% was in line with expectations and the central bank's latest meeting minutes suggested it plans to gradually cut interest rates as price increases slow continues to weaken. Follow live market updates.
2. Short holiday?
3. A red and blue Christmas
The 2024 presidential election could also play a role in what consumers buy this year. Voters who supported President-elect Donald Trump appear to have a better outlook for the economy than those who supported Vice President Kamala Harris, which could influence how much each group spends. Shipping data in the two weeks after the election also suggests that red-state shoppers may have opened their wallets more frequently following Trump's victory.
4. India's growth is slowing
India's economic growth weakened in the country's second fiscal quarter. The country's economy grew 5.4% in the period, below expectations and the slowest in almost two years. Economists expect activity in the world's most populous country to weaken further in 2025.
5. DOGE goes to Washington
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who head Trump's so-called Ministry of Government Efficiency, will meet with Republican congressional leaders on December 5. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said lawmakers plan to “discuss big reform ideas to be implemented.” “Removal of regulations, reductions in administration and cost savings” with the entrepreneurial couple. While Musk and Ramaswamy have proposed massive cuts to federal staff and even the abolition of entire agencies, it remains to be seen what impact they will have.
— CNBC's Alex Harring, Melissa Repko, Gabrielle Fonrouge, Lim Hui Jie, Matt Clinch and Lora Kolodny contributed to this report.
Comments are closed.