Early Look

Friday, December 27, 2024

U.S. futures are looking lower after finishing a low volume, slow news day on Thursday that saw major averages finish little changed on this holiday shortened trading week.  The S&P 500 ended Thursday flat, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 0.1% in a quiet post-holiday session as mixed jobless claims data did little to change bets on the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook. In Asian markets overnight, the Nikkei Index surged 713 points to 40,281, the Shanghai Index rose 2 points to 3,400 and the Hang Seng Index slipped -7 points to 20,090. In Europe, markets reopened as the German DAX is up60 points to 19,910, while the FTSE 100 is little changed at 8,136. Treasuries decline, with US 10-year yields rising 3 bps to 4.61%. European government bonds underperform, with German 10-year borrowing costs rising 7 bps to 2.40% – the highest in over a month. Oil prices edge higher, with WTI climbing 0.5% to $70 a barrel, gold slips and the dollar is mixed.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 28.77 points, or 0.07%, to 43,325,80.
• The Nasdaq Composite slipped -10.77 points, or 0.05%, to 20,020.36.
• The Russell 2000 Index advanced 20.34 points, or 0.90% to 2,280.19.

• 1:00 PM EST                Baker Hughes Weekly rig count data

• South Korea’s legislature voted to impeach acting President Han Duck-Soo on Friday after he declined to make judicial appointments needed to advance the impeachment of his predecessor, extending the political upheaval that began with a short-lived martial law declaration earlier this month – WSJ
• The Japanese yen rebounded slightly Friday, after Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said the government will take appropriate steps against excessive movements in the foreign exchange market.

• Netflix (NFLX) said their Netflix NFL Christmas Gameday was a record-breaking day, as The Kansas City Chiefs’ victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers averaged 24.1 million viewers, while an average of 24.3 million people watched the Baltimore Ravens defeat the Houston Texans, with most of the audience coming via Netflix. Both figures beat the previous record audience for a streamed NFL game, which was the 23 million in a playoff game the prior year.
• The NBA said Walt Disney Co’s (DIS) ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, Disney+ and ESPN+, saw an average of 5.25 million viewers that tuned in per game across five games on Christmas, up 84% over last year’s audience. The marquee showdown between LeBron James and Stephen Curry led the charge with an average of 7.76 million viewers.
• UnitedHealth (UNH) and Amedisys (AMED) waived the right to terminate their merger agreement until a certain date, a filing showed on Friday; waiver includes that regulatory break fee under deal to be $275M, may escalate for failing to meet some timing milestones up to $325M.