Stocks continue to fluctuate. The three major indexes closed higher again on Monday as the year's rally heads toward a triumphant conclusion. The broad-based S&P 500 rose 3.8% in December, snapping its longest weekly winning streak in six years, while the blue-chip Dow index rose nearly 4% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose nearly 5%. Bulls are still taking their cue from the Federal Reserve's suggestion last week that there could be three rate cuts in 2024 following the central bank's extended campaign against inflation. On Tuesday, investors will pay attention to data on building permits and housing starts, while Atlanta Fed Governor Raphael Bostic is scheduled to give a speech. Follow live market updates.
The container ship Ebba Maersk, operated by AP Moeller-Maersk A/S, leaves the port of Suez and heads toward the Red Sea after passing through the Suez Canal in Suez, Egypt, Saturday, April 6, 2013.
Kristian Helgesen | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The US military has had enough. Early Tuesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that the United States would work with several other nations to protect merchant ships that have come under fire in the Red Sea from Iran-backed Houthi fighters. The Houthis have attacked more than a dozen ships in solidarity with the Palestinian group Hamas since the war began in Gaza in early October. The attacks have forced major shipping and oil companies to reroute their traffic, disrupting the global supply chain.
Apple Watches are on display at the Apple Store in Grand Central Station on December 18, 2023 in New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
Apple is halting sales of some of its watches just days before Christmas. Due to a disagreement over intellectual property, the tech giant will suspend online sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 on Thursday afternoon and in-store sales after Sunday. Apple's surprise move comes nearly two months after the U.S. Commission on International Trade issued two orders restricting the company's ability to sell products with blood oxygen functions following a dispute with medical device company Masimo.
Nikola Corp. founder Trevor Milton, right, arrives in court in New York, U.S., on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023.
Yuki Iwamura | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The truck stops here. Trevor Milton, the founder of struggling electric and hydrogen truck maker Nikola, was sentenced to four years in prison and a $1 million fine on federal fraud charges. Prosecutors had demanded 11 years in prison for Milton, whom they compared to disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. (She was sentenced to just over 11 years in prison for her blood machine fraud scheme.) Milton continued to deny that he had committed any crimes at Monday's sentencing. He is free on bail while he appeals his prison sentence. Nikola shares, meanwhile, are trading under $1.
Jonathan Major plays Kang in Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Disney
It was one of Marvel fans' biggest questions: Would Disney drop Jonathan Majors, the acclaimed actor who would shape the next phase of the MCU, over allegations that he assaulted his girlfriend? The answer was “yes”. Shortly after Majors was convicted in a New York court of assault and harassment in connection with the incident in March, Disney-owned Marvel Studios dropped the “Creed III” star from his role as villain Kang the Conqueror. After a series of disappointing theatrical releases, Disney was already under pressure, including from its own CEO, to get the Marvel Cinematic Universe back on track. The majors' layoff could give the entertainment giant a chance to rethink things and go in a different direction to win back viewers.
— CNBC's Samantha Subin, Rebecca Picciotto, Lori Ann LaRocco, Jake Piazza, Michael Wayland, Dan Mangan and Sarah Whitten contributed to this report.
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