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Briefing.com Summary:
*NVIDIA is reportedly looking to start H200 shipments to China by mid-February.
*Larry Ellison has provided an irrevocable personal guarantee of the equity financing in Paramount's bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.
*There is a $69 billion 2-yr note auction today.
The stock market isn't necessarily at a holiday party this morning, but it is feeling some holiday cheer as it works to keep the Scrooges of the world at the door.
Currently, the S&P 500 futures are up 32 points and are trading 0.5% above fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are up 177 points and are trading 0.7% above fair value, and the DJIA futures are up 69 points and are trading 0.2% above fair value.
The degree of conviction in this trade, though, is questionable. That will be a constant criticism throughout this holiday-shortened week, which is going to lack the more active involvement seen most other weeks of the year.
Be that as it may, there is a stir in the market thanks to a Reuters report that NVIDIA (NVDA) is looking to start H200 shipments to China by mid-February and an amended bid from Paramount Skydance (PSKY) for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) that includes an irrevocable personal guarantee of the equity financing by Larry Ellison.
An M&A deal that includes Cintas (CTAS) acquiring UniFirst (UNF) for $275.00 per share in cash, which is a 62% premium over Friday's closing price, and The Information reporting that OpenAI's margins on its paid products increased this year have been added boosters for market sentiment.
There is an AI trade and M&A buzz, then, that is helping to lift the mood of the market on a relatively slow morning for corporate news.
The economic calendar isn't helping much on the news front either. It is empty today; however, stocks and bonds will be paying some added attention to the results of the $69 billion 2-yr note auction at 1:00 p.m. ET.
The 2-yr note yield is unchanged at 3.49%, and the 10-yr note yield is up one basis point to 4.16% ahead of the auction and in the wake of Cleveland Fed President Hammack (2026 FOMC voter) telling The Wall Street Journal that she thinks the target range for the fed funds rate can stay where it is "for some period of time."
