US open: Stocks gain as chip makers rally; Fubo surges

(Sharecast News) - US equities rose in early trade on Monday, with chip stocks in the black after well-received numbers from Foxconn. 1550 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were up 1.1% and 1.8%, respectively.

US stock markets will be closed on Thursday to mark the death of former President Jimmy Carter.

Patrick Munnelly at Tickmill Group said: "The first full trading week of 2025 is set to be a fascinating and potentially busy time for global markets, culminating with the release of US December employment figures on Friday.

"Market participants will also be paying close attention to the minutes from the Federal Reserve's December meeting and remarks from Fed officials for insights into future policy directions. According to a Reuters poll, a rise of 150,000 in US non-farm payrolls is anticipated, following an increase of 227,000 in November, while the unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 4.2%.

"The US economic calendar is packed with data releases, including the December ISM services PMI, final S&P Global PMIs, ADP employment figures, JOLTS job openings, November factory orders and trade data, weekly jobless claims, and preliminary January consumer sentiment and inflation expectations from the University of Michigan."

Minutes from the Fed's 17-18 December meeting will be released on Wednesday, while Fed officials such as Thomas Barkin, Jeffrey Schmid and Patrick Harker are scheduled to speak.

Earlier, US President-elect Donald Trump denied a Washington Post report suggesting that his aides were exploring more targeted tariff plans.

The Post cited three people familiar with the matter as saying that tariffs would be applied to every country but only cover critical imports. This would have marked a key shift from Trump's plans during the 2024 presidential campaign.

As a candidate, Trump had called for "universal" tariffs of as high as 10% or 20% on everything imported into the US. Many economists warned that such plans could cause price shocks, and many Republicans in Congress had criticised them.

But Trump refuted the report. On his Truth Social platform, he said the report "incorrectly states that my tariff policy will be pared back" and that it was "just another example of Fake News".

In equity markets, Fubo shares rocketed after it and Walt Disney announced plans to combine Disney's Hulu+ Live TV with Fubo into a single virtual TV provider.

Elsewhere, chip stocks gained after a bumper set of fourth-quarter results from Foxconn, with Nvidia up nearly 5%.

American Airlines flew higher after an upgrade to 'buy' from 'hold' at TD Cowen.

On the macro front, the seasonally-adjusted S&P Global US services PMI business activity index rose for the second month in a row in December, to a 33-month high of 56.8 from 56.1 in November.

The survey revealed the sharpest growth of output and new orders since March 2022, while employment increased for the first time in five months and business confidence hit an at 18-month high.

Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: "The US economy ended 2024 on a high according to the latest business surveys. Business activity in the vast services economy surged higher in the closing month of 2024 on fuller order books and rising optimism about prospects for the year ahead.

"Expectations of faster growth in the new year are based the anticipation of more business-friendly policies from the incoming Trump administration, including favourable tax and regulatory environments alongside protectionism via tariffs."