With New Year's Day landing on a Thursday, U.S. stock markets will be closed, leaving only three full trading days before the year ends.
What to Expect This Week
The market is likely to see low trading volume because of the holiday break. No Federal Reserve speeches are scheduled, and the economic calendar is relatively light.
Key Economic Reports
- Monday: Pending home sales data for November.
- Tuesday: S&P Case‑Shiller home price index for October (20 cities) and the Chicago Business Barometer for December.
- Tuesday also: Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s December policy meeting.
- Wednesday: Initial jobless claims for the week ended Dec 27.
- Thursday: New Year’s Day – market closed.
- Friday: No major releases.
Upcoming Earnings
The following companies will report third‑quarter results this week:
- Lifecore Biomedical
- Taylor Devices
- Hurco
Market Snapshot from Last Week
U.S. stocks ended the week with modest gains. The S&P 500 rose about 1.4%, the Dow Jones added roughly 1.2%, and the Nasdaq climbed around 1.2%.
Bond yields slipped slightly, with the 10‑year Treasury yield at about 4.13%.
Gold and silver kept climbing, with silver up nearly 8% to $77.20 an ounce and gold up about 1.1%.
Why It Matters
Lower volume can lead to sharper price moves on news, while the quiet data flow means fewer surprises. Investors may look to safe‑haven assets like gold and silver, which have been performing well this year.
Disclaimer
Remember, this is perspective, not a prediction. Do your own research and consider your risk tolerance before making any investment decisions.