Stock futures fall, Trump’s Fed pick, Cyber Monday: 3 Things

00:00 Julie Hyman

I’m Julie Hyman, and let’s get into the three things you need to know today.

00:02 Julie Hyman

First, US stock futures are starting December in the red. Stocks are falling along with risk assets after the S&P 500 barely managed to post a gain for seven consecutive months.

00:15 Julie Hyman

Crypto in particular is under pressure this morning. Bitcoin’s fall below $86,000 per token has given renewed momentum to the sales, which seemed to have calmed down a bit.

00:27 Julie Hyman

Ether and Solana are also sinking with Bitcoin.

00:31 Julie Hyman

Additionally, investors follow the Fed closely. The Central Bank will announce its next interest rate decision on December 10. Investors are pushing for a 25 basis point rate cut at the December meeting.

00:46 Julie Hyman

Meanwhile, we’ll get lagging economic data this week, including the Fed’s preferred PCE inflation gauge.

00:54 Julie Hyman

Wall Street is also watching for updates on the Fed’s future. The president told reporters aboard Air Force One that he had decided on the next Fed chairman and would make an announcement soon.

01:06 Julie Hyman

Trump’s chief economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, is seen as a possible replacement for current Fed chairman Jerome Powell. This is according to Bloomberg.

01:12 Julie Hyman

Holiday shopping continues this Cyber ​​Monday. Adobe Analytics expects online sales to grow 6.3% year over year.

01:21 Julie Hyman

However, this represents a smaller year-on-year gain compared to 2024. Black Friday shopping showed that consumers are patient. According to data from MasterCard spending pulse, retail sales, excluding automobiles, increased by 4.1%.

01:33 Julie Hyman

This surpassed the 3.4% figure recorded last year.

01:38 Julie Hyman

Wall Street will receive additional information on consumer spending and report earnings results this week from companies including Macy’s and discount retailers Dollar General and Dollar Tree.