5 things you need to know before the stock market opens on Friday

1. Market leftovers

U.S. stocks could have a shortened trading day on Friday after the market closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving. Stock prices fell in the beginning of the vacation as some investors appeared to scale back their holdings in major technology firms. Nevertheless, each of them are Dow Jones Industrial Average And S&P 500 are just under all-time highs. Wednesday provided some recent clues concerning the Federal Reserve's future policy stance, because the annual inflation rate of two.3% was according to expectations and the central bank's latest meeting minutes suggested it plans to steadily cut rates of interest as price increases slow continues to weaken. Follow live market updates.

2. Short holiday?

3. A red and blue Christmas

The 2024 presidential election could also play a job in what consumers buy this yr. Voters who supported President-elect Donald Trump appear to have a greater outlook for the economy than those that supported Vice President Kamala Harris, which could influence how much each group spends. Shipping data within the two weeks after the election also suggests that red-state shoppers could have opened their wallets more often following Trump's victory.

4. India's growth is slowing

India's economic growth weakened within the country's second fiscal quarter. The country's economy grew 5.4% within the period, below expectations and the slowest in nearly two years. Economists expect activity on this planet's most populous country to weaken further in 2025.

5. DOGE goes to Washington

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who head Trump's so-called Ministry of Government Efficiency, will meet with Republican congressional leaders on December 5. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said lawmakers plan to “discuss big reform ideas to be implemented.” “Removal of regulations, reductions in administration and cost savings” with the entrepreneurial couple. While Musk and Ramaswamy have proposed massive cuts to federal staff and even the abolition of entire agencies, it stays to be seen what impact they may have.

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