TheStreet's J.D. Durkin brings the latest business headlines from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as markets open for trading Monday, December 4th.
Full Video Transcript Below:
J.D. DURKIN: I’m J.D. Durkin - reporting from the New York Stock Exchange. Here’s what we’re watching on TheStreet today.
Stocks are coming off a banner month for markets which saw all major averages end in the green. Investors are optimistic that the Federal Reserve could be nearing the end of its rate hiking cycle, with hopes of rate cuts next year. The Fed will make its next interest rate decision on December 13th. Markets are pricing in a 99 percent chance that the central bank will hold rates steady this month.
Separately, investors are looking ahead to a slew of jobs data later this week. Tuesday will see the release of October job openings, the ADP employment report Wednesday, jobless claims Thursday and the all important November jobs report Friday. This week will give investors a clearer picture of the state of the labor market.
In other news, Alaska Airlines has agreed to buy Hawaiian Airlines in a $1.9 billion dollar deal. The deal has been under negotiation for months and once closed, both companies will keep their individual brands. The acquisition is expected to take between nine and eighteen months to close pending approval by Hawaiian Airlines shareholders.
But the planned merger may attract the attention of federal regulators. Airline mergers have faced strong opposition from the Biden administration in the past, with the administration arguing that further consolidation could harm competition. Earlier this year, the DOJ won a lawsuit to block the proposed merger of JetBlue and American Airlines.
That’ll do it for your daily briefing. From the New York Stock Exchange, I’m J.D. Durkin with TheStreet.
