A trader was seen working on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as stock futures remained relatively unchanged following the Christmas holiday. Despite the lack of significant movement in the futures market, the three major stock indices are poised for weekly gains. The S&P 500 has increased by 1.4% this week, setting new intraday and closing records earlier in the week. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite are also experiencing week-to-date growth of over 1%. Traditionally, the last five trading days of the year and the first two of the new year constitute a strong period for stocks, with historical data indicating an average gain of 1.3% for the S&P 500 during this timeframe. Additionally, precious metals, including gold and silver, reached new highs as their upward trend continues. It’s noteworthy that markets in the U.K., Australia, and Hong Kong are closed for Boxing Day.
In other news, Nvidia has made headlines by agreeing to acquire assets from the chip startup Groq for an impressive $20 billion in cash. This acquisition marks Nvidia’s largest purchase to date, significantly overshadowing its previous record set in 2019 when it bought Israeli chip designer Mellanox for nearly $7 billion. The deal includes a nonexclusive licensing agreement and will see Groq’s founder and key executives joining Nvidia to enhance and scale the licensed technology.
Meanwhile, Google users might soon have the option to change their embarrassing Gmail addresses from high school without losing their data or services. An update on Google’s account help page hints at this new capability, which currently appears only in the Hindi version of the support page, suggesting it may initially be rolled out in India or among Hindi-speaking markets.
In the realm of autonomous vehicles, Waymo has temporarily halted its robotaxi service in the San Francisco Bay Area in anticipation of expected heavy rain. This decision follows a recent incident where Waymo paused operations during a blackout that left some of its self-driving cars stranded in traffic, contributing to significant gridlock. The company plans to upgrade its fleet to better handle similar situations in the future.
Finally, rising costs for leather goods, including boots, jackets, and bags, are being attributed to tariffs and supply chain bottlenecks. Tapestry, the parent company of Coach and Kate Spade, has reported increased expenses, forecasting that tariff-related costs could reach $160 million, impacting profit margins. According to the Yale Budget Lab, prices for leather goods are projected to remain nearly 22% higher for the next one to two years, largely due to heavy tariff exposure from countries such as China, Vietnam, Italy, and India.
