foxex: Bon Voyage 2019!

The Market Sum | Insight after the bell

By Gabe Alpert, Associate Editor

Tuesday's Headlines

1. January 15th set for Phase One trade deal signing

2. Uber and Postmates sue to stop AB5 in California

3. Carlos Ghosn flees

Markets Closed

Dow
28,538.44 +0.27%

S&P
3,230.78 +0.29%

Nasdaq
8,972.60 +0.30%

VIX
13.78 -7.02%

Bitcoin
$7,182.26 -1.76%

US 10-Yr Yield
1.919 +1.27%

Markets Today

It was another slow day today as U.S. markets rose about a third of a percent. The FTSE and Nikkei were down by a little over half and a little over three quarters of a point respectively. As we head into next year, and the next decade, we here at Investopedia wish all of our readers well, and hope you achieve your goals in 2020.

Headlines

President Donald Trump said he would sign the U.S.-China Phase One trade deal on January 15, before going to Beijing for more trade talks. The deal would cancel plans to put new tariffs on $156 billion in Chinese goods that were to have gone into effect on the 15th of December, and cut tariffs on another $120 billion in goods in half. In exchange, China would increase agricultural purchases by $32 billion over two years.
Uber Technologies and Postmates sued to stop California Assembly Bill 5, which would force them to treat their drivers as employees. The companies claim it is unconstitutional and violates their rights of equal protection under the law and due process. The law is set to take effect tomorrow.
Universal Music Group owner Vivendi is selling a 10% equity stake in the music company to a consortium led by China's Tencent for $3.4 billion. The group has the option to buy another 10% at the same value before Jan. 2021.
Former Nissan executive Carlos Ghosn jumped bail and fled to Lebanon in a turn of events surprising even his own legal team, who were still holding his passports. Mr. Ghosn was indicted on financial charges after he allegedly arranged for money sent from Nissan to a distributor to instead go to a company he controls. Japanese law does not allow him to be tried in absentia, nor do the two countries have an extradition treaty. Lebanon claims he entered the country legally and won't be subject to legal action.

With New Years approaching, here is the schedule for market holidays around the world over the next couple of days.

More News:

What to Expect in 2020

The January No-Effect

GameStop Missed on Earnings, but the Stock Is Bottoming

chart courtesy YCHARTS

Pharmaceutical company Mylan rose 3.5%. Chemical company DuPont de Nemours and fertilizer maker Mosaic rose 3.0% and 2.9% respectively.

No major downward moves either today with even the biggest loser of the S&P 500, defense technology company L3Harris Technologies, only losing 1.1%. Insurer Anthem fell 1%.

Word of the Day

January Effect

The January Effect is a perceived seasonal increase in stock prices during the month of January. Analysts generally attribute this rally to an increase in buying, which follows the drop in price that typically happens in December when investors, engaging in tax-loss harvesting to offset realized capital gains, prompt a sell-off. Another possible explanation is that investors use year-end cash bonuses to purchase investments the following month.

Today in History

December 31, 1879

Today in 1879 Thomas Edison first demonstrated the incandescent light bulb in Menlo Park New Jersey. Incandescent bulbs were an improvement on previous arc-lighting bulbs, which used a series circuit, so if one broke, the rest went out, like modern Christmas lights. The incandescent bulb ran electricity through a wire filament, initially platinum, then changed to carbon to lower costs, so that it became so hot it glowed, much like how a toaster filament glows red-hot. Edison was able to devote time to the development of his invention due to the support of financier J.P. Morgan and some of the Vanderbilt family of industrial tycoons, which advanced him $30,000 for research and development.

Source: http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/gilded/jb_gilded_edison_1.html