Economic Indicators - The Federal Reserve is expected to cut the Fed funds rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.50% to 3.75% due to concerns over the jobs market and inflation [1] - The core PCE price index rose +0.2% month-over-month and +2.8% year-over-year in September, slightly below expectations [3] - U.S. personal spending increased by +0.3% month-over-month, while personal income grew by +0.4% month-over-month, exceeding expectations [3] - The German October Industrial Production rose +1.8% month-over-month, significantly above expectations of +0.2% [10] Market Performance - Wall Street's major equity averages ended positively, with Ulta Beauty surging over +12% after strong Q3 results and raised guidance [4] - Micron Technology and GlobalFoundries saw gains of over +4% and +3% respectively, while Warner Bros. Discovery climbed more than +6% following Netflix's acquisition announcement [4] - In pre-market trading, Tesla fell over -1% after a downgrade, while Confluent soared more than +28% amid acquisition talks [16] Corporate Earnings - Several prominent companies, including Broadcom, Oracle, and Adobe, are set to release quarterly results this week [7] - Carvana is expected to be added to the S&P 500 index on December 22nd, leading to an over +8% rise in pre-market trading [17] International Developments - China's November Trade Balance stood at $111.68 billion, exceeding expectations of $105 billion, with exports rising +5.9% year-over-year [12] - Japan's economy contracted more than initially estimated in Q3, with a revised annualized GDP of -2.3% quarter-over-quarter [14]
Stocks Set to Open Higher as Investors Await Fed Meeting