Market Minute: What to Watch This Week

Historically, this last week of the year is thinly traded, with the potential for bigger swings in price because of it. Traders may want to stay more on the sidelines during this time, but should still keep half an eye on the economic data to head off any surprises in January.

Today, a half-day in the stock market (closing at 1PM ET), we have the Redbook, Richmond Manufacturing, the Atlanta Fed GDPNow for 4Q, and a 5-year note auction. Thursday marks MBA Mortgage Applications, Jobless Claims, and a couple of bond auctions, as well as the Fed’s Balance Sheet. Friday, Retail Inventories, the Goods Trade Balance, and Crude Oil Inventories round us off.

While there aren’t any earnings to watch, here are a few stock stories to consider:

Netflix (NFLX) is scheduled to broadcast two live NFL games on Wednesday. The streamer has been dipping its toes into live content, but had buffering issues with its last major event, the Mike Tyson fight last month. Per Reuters, Netflix is also suing Broadcom (AVGO) over patent rights to do with virtual machines. American Airlines (AAL) is having technical issues with “all flights”, a blow during the busiest travel season of the year (and possibly ever) – and with more stringent rules about passenger refunds and other rights, it may be looking at a major financial hit. The OCC issued a cease-and-desist order against Bank of America (BAC) over deficiencies in its BSA (Bank Secrecy Act) and sanctions programs, but no fine was assessed. And, the CFPB has sued Rocket Homes (RKT), alleging kickbacks to real estate brokers and agents to steer customers to Rocket Mortgage for loans.

Have a great rest of the year from the Schwab Network!