Market Buzz: SEC Breakthrough with Spot Bitcoin ETF Approval Coincides with U.S. CPI Release.

Market

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Dow Futures contract was down 15 points, or 0.1%, the S&P 500 Futures contract was up 6 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq 100 Futures contract was up 66 points, or 0.4%

1. What’s driving markets? The US CPI is coming up, and the SEC has approved the first Bitcoin ETFs.
2. Futures jump ahead of inflation data, while crypto equities gain on ETF approval.
3. Amazon is planning to lay off hundreds of media workers.
4. Berkshire Hathaway now owns 34% of Occidental Petroleum.
5. Starlink from SpaceX transmits the first text messages across the T-Mobile network.
6. Chesapeake Energy will pay $7.4 billion to acquire Southwestern Energy.
7. As inflation slows, the labor market attracts Fed attention.
8. ETF approval might propel Bitcoin to $60,000 in the near future, according to deVere’s Green.
9. Trump’s $370 million civil fraud trial in New York is ready to complete.
10. Drugmakers plan to enter the obesity sector through partnerships and research.
11. Endeavour Silver provides production and cost projections for 2024.
12. Enbridge plans to invest in offshore wind in France rather than the United States.
13. The dollar is essentially flat ahead of the CPI announcement; gains from 2024 remain intact.
14. Fast Retailing, the parent company of Uniqlo, saw its first-quarter profit skyrocket due to strong foreign sales.
15. Commerzbank forms a partnership with Global Payments.
16. Smith Douglas Homes Issues 7.69M Shares at $21/share
17. In Vermont, FanDuel has launched mobile sports betting.
18. Google has laid off hundreds of people from its Assistant, hardware, and engineering divisions.
19. The dollar is essentially flat ahead of the CPI announcement; gains from 2024 remain intact.
20. US SEC allows bitcoin ETFs in watershed for crypto market
21. Amazon has not responded to EU concerns over the iRobot transaction.
22. Oil prices rise as tensions in the Middle East rise.
23. Thomson Reuters has made a bid to purchase Pagero in Sweden for $627 million.
24. Google’s $2.7 billion EU antitrust sentence should be upheld, according to a court expert.
25. In the Italian rule dispute, an EU court adviser supports Google and Amazon.
26. Airbus and Boeing will be at the forefront of $3.2 trillion in aircraft sales by 2042.
27. Lexar and Silicon Motion have unveiled their next-generation portable SSDs.
28. Broadridge collaborates with Boring Money to provide data insights.
29. Thomson Reuters has made a bid to purchase Pagero in Sweden for $627 million.
30. Bearish bets on most Asian currencies rise as predictions on US rate cuts fall: Reuters poll
31. Google has laid off hundreds of people from its Assistant, hardware, and engineering divisions.
32. YanGuFang selects an interim CEO and CFO in the wake of executive detention.
33. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, will meet with US House Speaker Mike Johnson. – Axios
    

GLOBAL NEWS 

1. For the first time in over 34 years, Japan’s Nikkei exceeds 35,000 points.
2. Japan’s stock market closed higher, with the Nikkei 225 up 1.88%.
3. At the conclusion of trading, Australian equities were up; the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.50%.
4. The Nifty 50 is up 0.13% after the closing of trade in India.
5. European markets are rising ahead of US inflation data.
6. China expresses concerns with US about chip-making export limits, sanctions
7. BOJ contemplating decreasing FY2024 inflation projection to mid-2% range – Jiji
8. ABB buys tech company to give industrial robots eyes and brains
9. Mercedes-Benz meets 2023 sales estimate, supply bottlenecks impact on Q4
10. India’s IT powerhouse Infosys posts mixed earnings, reduces forecast on weakening demand
11. Ceragon receives $150 million agreement for India 5G project
12. Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria have reached an agreement to remove floating mines in the Black Sea.
13. The Bank of England fines Wyelands Bank’s former CEO.
14. As oil revenues fall, Russia’s finance ministry shifts its focus to currency sales.
15. Stocks gain ahead of US data, but bitcoin falls as an ETF is approved.
16. The Supreme Court of Spain has overturned a $100 million punishment imposed on four major Spanish banks.
17. In the Italian rule dispute, an EU court adviser supports Google and Amazon.
18. Red Sea assaults cause a 1.3% reduction in global commerce, according to the IfW Kiel Institute.
19. Schrems, an Austrian activist, broadens his criticism over Meta’s premium ad-free service.
20. European equities jump ahead of the important US CPI; Tesco raises profit forecast
21. Wizz Air loses the fight against a $40 million rescue aid package for its Romanian competitor.
22. According to Ryanair CEO, passengers have showed little anxiety about Boeing planes.
23. Ryanair demands that Germany reduce aviation taxes and airport fees.
24. In 2026, SK On may begin mass production of LFP batteries for vehicles.
25. Orienspace, a private Chinese enterprise, launches the world’s most powerful rocket.
26. Argentina CSD expands capacity using Nasdaq technology
27. The price of bitcoin has risen as a result of the acceptance of spot ETFs.

Economic Data

• November wholesale inventories unrevised at -0.2% (consensus -0.2%) and business sales unchanged (vs. consensus -0.3%) vs Oct -1.5% (prev -1.3%); the Nov stock/sales ratio 1.34 months’ worth vs Oct 1.35 months. We have not seen a positive wholesale inventory number M/M since November 2022 as per CNBC.

Global news Updates

The U.S. SEC has approved 11 spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, including those of Grayscale, Bitwise and Hashdex, according to a statement. The ETF’s will be listed on Nasdaq, NYSE, and the CBOE. Their assets will comprise physical bitcoin purchased from crypto exchanges and held via custodians. The issuers said they plan to charge fees ranging from 0.20% to 0.8%, well below the broader ETF market average.
Bitcoin ETFs & reported fees: Grayscale (GBTC) 1.5%, Hashdex (DEFI) 0.9%, Valkyrie (BRRR) 0.49%, Invesco (BTCO) 0.39%, Wisdom Tree (BTCW) 0.3%, Franklin (EZBC) 0.29%, Blackrock (IBIT) 0.25%, Fidelity ($FBTC) 0.25%, VanEck (HODL) 0.25%, Ark 21 (ARKB) 0.21% and Bitwise (BITB) 0.2%.
The bull-bear spread in the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) weekly survey was 24.4 vs 25.1 last week. Bulls remain unchanged at 48.6%, Neutrals fall to 27.2% from 27.9%, Bears rise to 24.2% from 23.5%.
Short interest on the Nasdaq fell 4.2% in the second half of December, the exchange said on Wednesday. As of Dec. 29, short interest fell to about 12.375 billion shares, compared with 12.922 billion shares as of Dec. 15.
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is considering lowering its inflation outlook for fiscal year 2024 to the mid-2% range in the upcoming quarterly forecast, Jiji news agency reported on Thursday.
The Bank of Korea left its key policy interest rate unchanged at 3.50% as expected for the eighth time. The decision was unanimous, and 5 board members see the current 3.50% policy rate as the peak.

Economic Calendar

8:30 AM                   Consumer Price Index (CPI) M/M for December

8:30 AM                   Consumer Price Index (CPI) Y/Y for December

8:30 AM                   Core CPI – Ex Food & Energy M/M for December

8:30 AM                   Core CPI – Ex Food & Energy Y/Y for December

8:30 AM                   Weekly Jobless Claims

8:30 AM                   Continuing Claims

10:30 AM                 Weekly EIA Natural Gas Inventory Data

11:00 AM                 Cleveland Fed CPI for December

1:00 PM                   US Treasury to sell $21B in 30-year notes.

2:00 PM                    Federal Budget for December

Other Key Events:

Consumer Electronics Show (CES), 1/9-1/12, in Las Vegas, NV

JP Morgan 42nd Annual Healthcare Conference, 1/7-1/11, in San Francisco, CA

China CPI, PPI, Import and Exports for December

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