Coming back from the Christmas Day holiday, there are still some glad tidings to be found in the equity futures market.
Currently, the S&P 500 futures are up six points and are trading 0.2% above fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are up 22 points and are trading 0.2% above fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up 26 points and are trading 0.2% above fair value.
One can imagine that the trading ranks are on the thinner side of things today and probably will be throughout the week, which will end flowing into another three-day weekend. Last week things ended with the major indices flowing into an eighth straight week of gains.
Today’s session will be counted in the “Santa Claus Rally” period, which encompasses the last five trading days of the year and the first two trading days of the new year. There isn’t a lot of news flow to fly the sleigh so to speak, but Santa’s sleigh is hovering with the help of some M&A activity.
The biotech area should be among the more popular trading spots today. Bristol-Myers (BMY) is acquiring RayzeBio (RYZB) for $62.50 per share in cash, which is a 104% premium over Friday’s closing price, and AstraZeneca (AZN) is acquiring Gracell Biotechnologies (GRCL) for an upfront cash portion of $10.00 per ADS, which is a 62% premium over Friday’s closing price.
Separately, Manchester United (MANU) reached an agreement for Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Chairman of INEOS, to acquire up to a 25% shareholding in the company, and Reuters reports that Synopsys (SNPS) has submitted an offer to acquire ANSYS (ANSS) at well over $400 per share.
The rest of the corporate news flow has been limited, which is not surprising given that many markets around the world are still on holiday.
A few other items of note include Intel (INTC) receiving a $3.2 billion grant from Israel to build a $25 billion chip plant in southern Israel, according to Reuters, and the Biden Administration deciding against vetoing the import ban for the Apple (AAPL) Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2.
Otherwise, most of the attention has fallen on the geopolitical landscape, which is less than ideal. The fighting between Israel and Hamas, and between Russia and Ukraine, persists; and there was a Wall Street Journal report over the weekend that an oil tanker near India was struck with an Iranian drone.
On a better note, shipping giant Maersk is going to resume sending tankers through the Red Sea, according to FT, under a new U.S. coalition.
Like the equity futures market, there isn’t a lot of flow in the Treasury market this morning. The 2-yr note yield is up two basis points to 4.35% and the 10-yr note is up one basis point to 3.91% in front of a $57 billion 2-year note auction. Results will be announced at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Prior to that, the October FHFA Housing Price Index (prior 0.6%) and the October S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index (Briefing.com consensus 5.0%; prior 3.9%) will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET.
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Originally Posted December 26, 2023 – Slow to get into the flow
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