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Stocks Rise On Trade Optimism, Santa Rally Begins, China To Cut Tariffs

By:
Thomas Hughes
Published: Dec 23, 2019, 14:14 UTC

U.S. stocks are set to rise as the traditional period for the Santa Claus rally begins.

Bull - Wall St

U.S. Futures Are Up In Early Monday Trading

The U.S. futures are up in early Monday trading as the Santa Claus rally gets underway. The Santa Claus rally is the period from December 20 through January 5th and typically brings investors gains in the range of 1.5% to 3.0%. Today’s move is driven by trade optimism and word from both Washington and Beijing.

On China’s part, they have announced the reduction or removal of tariffs on over 850 U.S. imports. The move is a phased deal, the first round of reductions will begin January 1st with the remainder beginning July 1st, 2020. On the White House side of the equation, President Trump says he and Xi Jinping had a good talk on Friday and are making plans for an official Phase One Deal signing next month. The Dow Jones Industrials, S&P 500, and NASDAQ Composite are all up about 0.25%.

In stock news, Tesla announced it was working to open a new giga-factory outside Berline. Tesla also announced it was taking another loan from Chinese bans to complete its China facilities. Uber founder Travis Kalanick has been selling his stake in the company. According to SEC filings Kalanick has sold over 90% since the lock-up period expired. Boeing announced its troubled Starliner safely landed in New Mexico following last week’s botched attempt to dock with the International Space Station.

European Markets Are Mixed On Monday

European markets are mixed on Monday as traders weigh the impact of last week’s historic events. Not only has the U.S. and China reached a Phase One Deal but the UK is poised to exit the EU smoothly next month. The DAX is the only index in the red, down about -0.15%, while the FTSE 100 and CAC are both posting gains. The UK is in the lead with an advance of 0.50%.

In stock news, shares of NMC Health are up more than 30% on Monday. The move was sparked when the company announced an independent review intended to assuage investor fears. NMC Health fell more than 50% last week after a major short-seller announced a new stake in the company. Italian infrastructure company Atlantia fell -4.3% due to a new law expected to be passed today. The law would make it easier and cheaper for Italy to renationalize now privately-owned roadways.

Asian Markets Are Mixed

The Asian markets are mixed on Monday. Mainland China shares on the Shanghai exchanged posted the worst loss, about -1.40%, due to the reduction in tariffs on U.S. goods. The reduced tariffs will make it easier to import products from the U.S. putting pressure on domestic producers. Shares in Australia and Korea also moved lower. The Nikkei and Hang Seng are the only two indices to advance, they both posted gains near 0.10%.

 

About the Author

Thomas has been a professional options trader and investor since October 2005. At that time, Thomas was introduced to financial markets, technical analysis, and financial market analysis. He tracks economic data from the worlds leading economies, corporate earnings, equities, currency, commodities, and cryptocurrencies.

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