Markets Mixed In Thin Holiday Trade, Brexit In Focus, Autos Fall In Asia

U.S. Markets Are Flat In Early Trading

The U.S. markets are indicated to have a flat to slightly higher open on Monday morning. The move follows a record-setting year that has seen the S&P 500 rise nearly 30%. The S&P 500 is in the lead with a gain of 0.11% with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ Composite close behind. With only four trading days left in the traditional Santa Claus Rally period traders are looking for additional gains.

In stock news, shares of Tesla are hovering at their new highs following some news out of China. The company says it has delivered the first Model 3’s made at the Shanghai factory and plans to ramp deliveries next month. Analysts at Cowen are not sanguine about the stock, they say the company will miss delivery targets and spark a 50% correction in the stock price.

Shares of Disney are edging higher, up 0.05%, after it revealed Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker topped box office sales for another week. Disney has accounted for more than 40% of total box office sales in the U.S. this year, The Rise of Skywalker is on track to top $1 billion. Drug-maker Astrazenaca is moving higher as well, the company received approval from the FDA for a key treatment for pancreatic cancer.

European Markets Fall In Monday Trading

The European markets are moving lower at midday on Monday. The German DAX is down about -0.65% while the FTSE and CAC trail with losses near -0.30%. All sectors are lower except for the banks. Banking stocks are in the lead. Insurer Old Mutual is up 1.70% in early trading. At the other end of the spectrum, pharma-company Swedish Orphan Biovitrum is trading -3.5% lower than Friday’s close.

On the economic front, there is little data on the calendar for today or even the week. Regarding the EU, traders can expect manufacturing PMI as well as a raft of data from individual member states.

Asia Mixed, China Is The Only Market To Post Gains

Asian markets are mixed on Monday with China the only major market to move higher. The Shanghai Composite advanced 1.16% after the central government announced changes to its floating-loan-rate policy. Starting in 2020, China will use the new loan prime rate as the benchmark for floating-rate loans, a move economists say will boost the economy.

In stock news, autos are among the worst performers. Shares of Honda, Mitsubishi, and Suzuki are all down more than -1.0%. In South Korea, benchmarks Samsung and SK Hynix are down -1.25% and -1.98% respectively.