5 things to know before the stock market opens Tuesday – NBC New York

• The S&P 500 and the Dow hit fresh record highs.
• GM beat Wall Street’s expectations and forecast a strong 2024.
• FanDuel’s parent company made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange.

Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:

1. And another one

The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit new highs yet again on Monday, their sixth record closes of the year. The S&P rose 0.76% to 4,927.93, beating its previous record high close of 4,894.16 from just last week. The Dow, meanwhile, closed the day at 38,333.45, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.12%. It’s the busiest earnings week of the season, with 19% of companies in the S&P 500 set to report. Investors are eagerly awaiting results from many of the Big Tech companies that have led this year’s rally so far, including Microsoft and Alphabet, which are reporting today after the market close. Follow live market updates.

2. Engines revving

General Motors beat Wall Street’s expectations on the top and bottom line in the fourth quarter, reporting adjusted earnings per share of $1.24 versus the $1.16 analysts’ forecast. The automaker also reported revenue of $42.98 billion, higher than the analysts’ estimated $38.67 billion. GM forecast another strong year in 2024, despite potential headwinds. “Consensus is growing that the U.S. economy, the job market and auto sales will continue to be resilient, and at GM, we expect healthy industry sales of about 16 million units with the mix of EVs continuing to grow,” CEO Mary Barra said. The company saw issues in China, though, as its second-largest market continued to struggle. GM also expects to spend $1 billion less on its embattled autonomous vehicle unit Cruise than it did in 2023. GM’s stock surged more than 6% in premarket trading.

3. End of the line

Another deal bites the dust. Amazon terminated its plans to acquire Roomba maker iRobot, with the companies saying Monday that there is “no path to regulatory approval for the deal.” After the announcement, the vacuum maker said it would lay off 31% of its employees, or about 350 people, and CEO Colin Angle will step down, effective immediately. iRobot shares dropped nearly 9% in Monday trading after the announcement. The deal would have valued iRobot at about $1.7 billion, but instead, Amazon will pay the company a $94 million breakup fee. The acquisition was called into question earlier this year after the Wall Street Journal reported that the European Union would not offer its blessing and intended to block the deal.

4. New stock bet

Flutter, the parent company of international sportsbook FanDuel, made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange Monday, listing under the ticker symbol “FLUT.” Flutter gives U.S. investors another chance to get into the hot spots betting market, as well as an alternative to rival DraftKings, which has lagged FanDuel in posting profits. Jefferies analysts believe Flutter could get a 20% premium on DraftKings’ valuation based on FanDuel’s “sustained market share outperformance.” The NYSE launch is a secondary listing, and Flutter is retaining its primary listing on the London Stock Exchange.

5. Sigh of relief

The euro zone narrowly avoided a recession in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to flash figures from the European Union’s statistics agency. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a recession after a 0.1% fall in GDP in the third quarter. But fourth-quarter GDP ended up flat compared with the previous quarter and expanded by 0.1% versus the previous year. The euro zone’s divergence from the U.S. is growing, Bert Colijn, senior economist at ING, said in a note, citing a bigger drop in inflation-adjusted wages, industrials getting hit by energy prices and less fiscal support. The U.S. blew past expectations and saw a 3.3% expansion in the fourth quarter.

— CNBC’s Brian Evans, Michael Wayland, Contessa Brewer, Rohan Goswami and Jenni Reid contributed to this report.

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