5 Things to Know Before the Stock Market Opens
Stock futures pointed higher before a tech outage halted trading ahead of the shortened trading session; stock markets will close at 1 p.m. ET today, while bond markets end trading at 2 p.m. ET; major retailers are on the rise ahead of today’s Black Friday shopping day; and the SEC is investigating investment bank Jefferies (JEF) over its ties to bankrupt auto parts maker First Brands Group. Here’s what you need to know today.
Major US Stock Indexes on Pace for Best Week Since June
With stock futures pointing higher of a tech outage, the major indexes could be on pace for their biggest weekly gains since June. Futures associated with the Nasdaq were up 0.2% before the outage. The tech-focused index has added about 4.2% for the first three sessions of the holiday-shortened week. S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures edged about 0.1% higher recently, with those indexes up 3.2% and 2.6%, respectively, for the week so far. The price of Bitcoin traded around $91,400 after breaking the $90,000 level on Wednesday. Gold futures moved up to $4,221 an ounce. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which impacts a range of consumer loans, was little changed at around 4%. Oil futures moved higher to $59.08 a barrel.
CME Group Trading Halted Over Data Center Cooling Issue
Futures trading on some Chicago Mercantile Exchange markets ground to a halt over a data center issue. “Due to a cooling issue at CyrusOne data centers, our markets are currently halted. Support is working to resolve the issue in the near term and will advise clients of Pre-Open details as soon as they are available,” the CME Group website said this morning. It later posted that its BrokerTec EU markets were open and trading, while other CME Group markets remained closed.
Markets Close Early Today Following Thanksgiving Holiday
Traders returning from the Thanksgiving holiday won’t have a full session today, as markets are operating on shortened hours. The stock market closes at 1 p.m. ET, while the bond market closes at 2 p.m. ET. Markets return to a full schedule next week, with the next breaks in trading coming for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
Black Friday Arrives With Record Holiday Spending Expected
Consumer confidence may be wavering, but retailers are betting shoppers might propel holiday spending to record levels as the Black Friday shopping day arrives. The Friday after Thanksgiving has traditionally been one of the busiest shopping days of the year, with many retailers promoting sales and specials. The National Retail Federation is projecting that consumers could push total holiday shopping season sales totals over $1 trillion for the first time. Consumers will also find deals online as e-commerce sellers prepare for the upcoming “Cyber Monday” sales day, with Salesforce projecting that the “cyber week” sales from Thanksgiving through Monday could reach $78 billion. Shares of retailers Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), Amazon (AMZN) and Macy’s (M) all pointed higher in premarket trading.
SEC Investigates Jefferies Ties to First Brands Group
The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating investment banker Jefferies Financial Group (JEF) over its ties to bankrupt auto parts maker First Brands Group, The Financial Times reported. The SEC is looking into whether Jefferies gave investors in its Point Bonita fund enough information about their exposure to First Brands, which filed for bankruptcy in December. Jefferies CEO Rich Handler has said that the bank believes it was defrauded by First Brands, the report showed. Shares of Jefferies were lower in premarket trading.
