Stock Market Update

The S&P 500 futures are up six points and are trading 0.1% above fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are up 90 points and are trading 0.4% above fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down 80 points and are trading 0.2% below fair value.

There's a mixed vibe in early trading. Many market participants are in vacation-mode in front of this week's holiday-related closures. The NYSE closes at 1:00 p.m. ET and the bond market closes at 2:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and markets are closed on Wednesday for Christmas Day.

The 2-yr yield is up two basis points to 4.33% and the 10-yr yield is up four basis points to 4.56%.

Today's economic lineup features the December Consumer Confidence Index at 10:00 ET.

In corporate news:

• Eli Lilly (LLY 779.26, +11.50, +1.5%): FDA approves Zepbound (tirzepatide) as the first and only prescription medicine for moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity
• Boeing (BA 179.68, +2.33, +1.3%): Chief Information Officer Susan Doniz will leave the company, according to Bloomberg
• Apple (AAPL 255.35, +0.86, +0.3%): considers introducing smart lock devices for homes, according to Bloomberg
• Qualcomm (QCOM 157.16, +4.27, +2.8%): jurors found that chip company didn't violate terms of agreement covering Arm Holding's (ARM) designs, according to Bloomberg; Qualcomm issues statement on trial verdict win
• Stellantis (STLA 12.78, -0.11, -0.9%): reversed Ohio layoff decision

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region began the week on a mostly higher note, though volume was on the light side given this week's upcoming Christmas-related closures. Japan's Nikkei: +1.2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng: +0.8%, China's Shanghai Composite: -0.5%, India's Sensex: +0.6%, South Korea's Kospi: +1.6%, Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: +1.6%.
  • In economic data:
    • Singapore's November CPI 0.0% m/m (last -0.3%); 1.6% yr/yr (expected 1.8%; last 1.4%). November Core CPI 1.9% yr/yr (expected 2.1%; last 2.1%)
  • In news:
    • Continued demand for Chinese debt briefly sent yields on most tenors to fresh record lows before a pullback.
    • GAC Motor expects to report a 20% yr/yr decrease in vehicle sales for 2024 but it expects 15% yr/yr growth in 2025.
    • Executives from Nissan and Honda met with Japanese officials to discuss their merger plans.
    • Japan's Cabinet office maintained its overall economic assessment in the report for December.
• Major European indices trade near their flat lines ahead of Christmas-related closures that will begin tomorrow. STOXX Europe 600: +0.2%, Germany's DAX: -0.2%, U.K.'s FTSE 100: +0.3%, France's CAC 40: +0.1%, Italy's FTSE MIB: +0.1%, Spain's IBEX 35: UNCH.
  • In economic data:
    • Germany's November Import Price Index 0.9% m/m (expected 0.5%; last 0.6%); 0.6% yr/yr (last -0.8%)
    • U.K.'s Q3 GDP 0.0% qtr/qtr (expected 0.1%; last 0.4%); 0.9% yr/yr (expected 1.0%; last 0.7%). Q3 Business Investment 1.9% qtr/qtr (expected 1.2%; last 1.8%); 5.8% yr/yr (expected 4.5%; last 1.4%). Q3 Current Account deficit GBP18.1 bln (expected deficit of GBP22.9 bln; last deficit of GBP24.0 bln)
    • Italy's November non-EU trade surplus EUR5.91 bln (last surplus of EUR5.81 bln)
    • Spain's Q3 GDP 0.8% qtr/qtr, as expected (last 0.8%); 3.3% yr/yr (expected 3.4%; last 3.1%)
    • Swiss December ZEW Expectations -20.0 (last -12.4)
  • In news:
    • The U.K.'s GDP for Q3 was revised down slightly to reflect no growth.
    • European Central Bank President Lagarde said that the time is approaching when it could be declared that inflation has sustainably returned to the 2.0% target.
    • Policymakers Vujcic and Makhlouf spoke in favor of additional rate cuts in 2025.
    • British insurer Aviva agreed to acquire Direct Line.