CNBC Business News Update - Market Close: Stocks Gain To Begin Shortened Trading Week, Honda & Nissan To Merge, Xerox Buys Printer Maker Lexmark

Episode Date: December 23, 2024

The latest in business, financial, and market news and how it impacts your money, reported by CNBC's Peter Schacknow

I'm Peter Schach, now CNBC. Investors are hoping the traditional Santa Claus rally kicks in for stocks after a rough few weeks. The Santa Claus rally, which of course is not guaranteed, is said to take place over the final five trading days of the old year and the first two days of the new year. The holiday shortened trading week did get off to a good start, with the major averages improving after a lower open. The Dow gained 67 points to close at 42,907. The S&P 500 gained three quarters of a percent or 43 points and the Nasdaq jumped 192 points or one percent. The Dow had been down 323 points at session low. Stephanie Link, chief investment strategist at Hightower, weighs in on whether Santa Claus will show up on Wall Street.

I want to keep it into perspective. We were up 26 percent last year, 24 percent this year. I actually think we could rally into the end of the year. And I think the winners are going to continue to win into the end of the year because you have portfolio managers that are underperforming their benchmarks. And they're going to just catch up, try to catch up. And I think the losers probably continue to lose, too, on tax-loss harvesting. Among stocks on the move today, U.S. shares of automaker Honda jumped almost 13 percent, on word that Honda and Japanese rival Nissan will spend the next six months finalizing merger arrangements and creating the world's third-largest automaker.

Xerox is buying printer maker Lexmark from its China-based owners for $1.5 billion. Its stock rallied about 13%. New home sales rose 5.9% last month, and October's figures were revised higher. However, market watchers say rising mortgage rates could crimp the housing market in 2025. Peter Schach now, CNBC. The Investing Club. We're not about trading. We're about investing. Get invested. Join the club today. Go to cndc.com slash Jim's Club.