Markets down for the holidays buoyed by strong Wall Street finish

This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open tells investors everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Do you like what you see? You can subscribe here.

Mega car fusion
Nissan i honda they have started official merger discussionsthe two companies announced on Monday. Negotiations will end in June 2025. Listed in Japan honda shares were up 13.4% last Tuesday and on track its best day since October 2008after the company announced plans to buy back 24% of its issued shares on December 23 next year.

Taiwan leads the Asian markets
As of December 23, Taiwan’s Taiex had gained 28.85%, becoming the best performing stock market in Asia-Pacific in 2024. Taiex’s focus on technology and technology-related stocks helped boost its performance. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company soared 82.12% in 2024 and Foxconn, which trades as a Hon Hai Precision Industry — advanced 77.51%.

Positive start to the holidays
US markets got up on monday based on a good sample of the great technological actions. The New York Stock Exchange closes early Tuesday for Christmas Eve. Asia-Pacific shares were traded mixed on Tuesday. from Japan Nikkei 225 fell about 0.4% even as Honda shares popped. Meanwhile, Hong Kong Hang Seng Index rose more than 1%.

UK GDP is not good
The The UK economy did not expand in the three months ending in September, according to revised figures from the National Statistics Office, published on Monday. Previous estimates had pegged third-quarter gross domestic product at 0.1%. Earlier this month, ONS data showed that the UK economy had unexpectedly contracted 0.1% in October

(PRO) Buffett’s biggest war chest
by Warren Buffett Berkshire Hathaway is currently with $325 billion in cash — the largest amount that accumulates in absolute terms. Cash now makes up about 30% of Berkshire’s total assets, the highest proportion in 34 years, according to Oppenheimer data. Buffett sold large amounts of Apple and Bank of America shares this year. Why does the legendary 94-year-old investor keep so much cash? Analysts intervene.

US markets began the trading week with holiday cheer. The S&P 500 gained 0.73% and the Dow Jones Industrial Averagerecovering from earlier losses, it rose 0.16%. The Nasdaq Composite it added 0.98% thanks to the strong performance of large technology companies such as Nvidia, Tesla i Metaplatforms.

However, bitcoin proxy shares MicroStrategy fell 8.8% on its first day on the Nasdaq-100 index, after the cryptocurrency’s price fell below $93,000 on Monday.

That said, MicroStrategy is still among the best-performing U.S. tech companies valued at $5 billion or more, according to FactSet data. Its shares have soared 426% so far this year, mostly thanks to the company’s bitcoin storagewhich began to accrue in 2020.

With bitcoin recovering after Donald Trump’s election victory, MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin holdings are now worth around $42 billion. It’s the basis for the company’s market capitalization, which has risen to $82 billion from roughly $1.1 billion since it started buying bitcoins in bulk.

Investors looking to take advantage of MicroStrategy’s explosive rise should remember that the company’s stock price currently trades with bitcoin prices.

The flip side is that if bitcoin prices rise for any reason, as volatile as the cryptocurrency can be, MicroStrategy’s stock could stumble as well.

Trading is likely to be light this week. US markets will close early on Tuesday and take a break on Wednesday for Christmas.

But light trading does not mean small movements in the markets. “With the market’s main bullish trends still intact, we won’t give up on the potential for a Santa to come to Broad & Wall this year,” Craig Johnson, chief market strategist at Piper Sandler, said in a note.

As investors celebrate the holidays, and the S&P’s 25.25% year-to-date pop, they might find an extra gift under the tree.

— CNBC’s Yun Li, MacKenzie Sigalos and Ari Levy contributed to this report.

CNBC Daily Open will be on hiatus and will return next year. Happy holidays!