no extra.5 Things to Know Before the Stock Market Opens on Tuesday

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Here are five key points investors should weigh as the trading day begins:

The market rally that had driven a five‑day winning streak across the major indexes stalled yesterday, as a sharp decline in cryptocurrencies dampened risk‑on sentiment.

Key takeaways:

• The three major U.S. indexes each snapped their winning streak, and the Russell 2000 slipped more than 1 %.
• Bitcoin dropped 6 %, marking its worst single‑day performance since March.
• Crypto‑related equities and several high‑profile artificial‑intelligence plays also retreated, indicating broader risk aversion.
• Retail‑focused stocks proved resilient; the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) extended its one‑week gain to over 6 % as holiday shopping momentum built.
• Live market updates are available throughout the day.

From a strategic standpoint, the crypto sell‑off highlights the growing correlation between digital‑asset volatility and broader equity markets. Investors with exposure to speculative sectors may need to recalibrate position sizing and hedge against further downside risk.

President Donald Trump has hinted at his preferred candidate to succeed Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chair, but the nominee has not yet been disclosed. Market consensus points to National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett as the frontrunner.

Prediction markets assign a high probability to Hassett’s appointment, and he indicated publicly that he would be “happy to serve” if called upon.

The incoming chair will inherit a Federal Reserve that is split on the direction of monetary policy—balancing inflation concerns with the need to sustain economic growth. A leadership change could shift the Fed’s stance on rate hikes, quantitative tightening, and forward guidance, potentially reshaping equity valuations, especially in rate‑sensitive sectors such as real estate and technology.

Apple announced that its head of artificial intelligence, John Giannandrea, will step down. He will be succeeded by Amar Subramanya, a former executive at Microsoft and Google. This marks the most significant reorganization of Apple’s AI team since the launch of the Apple Intelligence suite last year.

Industry analysts note that Apple’s AI capabilities have lagged behind rivals such as Google, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The new leadership could accelerate integration of large‑language models into Apple’s ecosystem, potentially unlocking new revenue streams in services and hardware.

In parallel, Nvidia disclosed a $2 billion investment in Synopsys stock as part of a partnership aimed at accelerating AI‑driven chip design. Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang called the deal “huge.” Synopsys shares jumped nearly 5 % following the announcement, while Nvidia added over 1 %.

From a valuation perspective, Nvidia’s strategic stake provides exposure to the growing EDA (electronic design automation) market, which is expected to benefit from the surge in AI‑centric semiconductor development. Investors may view this as a catalyst for both companies’ long‑term growth.

Costco filed a lawsuit seeking a full refund of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration and an injunction to halt further collection. The retailer argues that the tariffs—implemented earlier this year—have disrupted its supply chain and eroded margins.

Dozens of other firms have lodged similar suits, hoping to secure refunds should the Supreme Court deem the duties unlawful. Costco cautioned that even a favorable ruling might not guarantee reimbursement because of a statutory deadline on Dec. 15.

The case underscores the broader economic impact of protectionist policies on wholesale and retail distributors, especially those that rely on low‑cost imports. A court decision against the tariffs could restore pricing power for Costco and its peers, potentially improving earnings outlooks for the sector.

Cyber Monday, one of the biggest online shopping events of the year, was marred by a multi‑hour outage at Shopify. The disruption caused a nearly 6 % decline in the e‑commerce platform’s share price.

Merchants reported login problems and failures in point‑of‑sale systems. By mid‑afternoon, Shopify indicated that services were beginning to recover. The incident highlights the operational risks inherent in platform‑as‑a‑service models, especially during peak traffic periods.

Analysts suggest that investors should monitor Shopify’s incident‑response protocols and infrastructure investments. Robust redundancy and real‑time scaling capabilities will be critical for maintaining confidence among the more than 10 % of U.S. e‑commerce transactions that flow through its platform.

—Contributors: Fred Imbert, Liz Napolitano, Pia Singh, Jeff Cox, Ashley Capoot, Kif Leswing, Dan Mangan, Annie Palmer, Ryan Baker. Edited by Josephine Rozzelle.