5 things to know before the stock market opens Wednesday

Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:

Stocks have struggled for momentum so far in 2024, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average off nearly a half of a percent in the first six trading days of the new year. The S&P 500 is down about 0.25% year to date and the Nasdaq Composite is down more than 1%. As put by Emily Roland, co-chief investment strategist at John Hancock Investment Management, stocks are in “wait-and-see mode.” The back half of this week brings two key inflation reports and the unofficial start to earnings season. “It almost feels like we ended the year with the Fed pivot party, and we’re potentially experiencing a little bit of a hangover right now,” Roland said. Follow live market updates.

The Securities and Exchange Commission gave crypto investors hope late Tuesday and then swiftly brought them back down to earth. The SEC said its account on X, formerly Twitter, was compromised when it posted an announcement saying bitcoin ETFs were approved for trading. SEC Chair Gary Gensler jumped on his own X account to say the post was unauthorized and not made by the SEC or its staff. In other words: The agency still hasn’t made a decision about the funds. Bitcoin prices rose on the initial fake post then quickly slid below $46,000. Crypto advocates have been waiting for the SEC to make an announcement about bitcoin ETFs for years and are expecting news about the issue this week. They say such vehicles will bring new investors into digital assets.

Home prices have been going higher and higher. That’s thanks in part to mortgage rates falling, which has pumped up demand. But supply remains limited, leading to that classic supply and demand problem. Home prices jumped 5.2% on an annual basis in November, up from a 4.7% annual gain in October, according to analytics firm CoreLogic. The new hot spot? Detroit, which had the largest annual price gain at 8.7%. It topped Miami for the first time after the Florida city held the crown for 16 months. Prices are expected to soften next year, but it all depends on how many houses are available.

Former President Donald Trump and his attorneys argued in court Tuesday that he’s immune from prosecution for actions he took while in office. A panel of three federal appellate judges appeared skeptical of Trump’s case that unless a president has been convicted by the Senate in a formal impeachment vote, he cannot be criminally prosecuted for official acts. The Justice Department’s special counsel has charged Trump in Washington, D.C., with four counts, including conspiring to defraud the U.S. and obstruct an official proceeding. Trump has pleaded not guilty. The decision will have big implications for Trump’s legal battles, his 2024 presidential aspirations and executive power in general.

… but not quite yet. U.S. lunar company Astrobotic has called off its attempt at a soft moon landing — what would have been the country’s first in more than 50 years. The Peregrine moon lander deployed successfully after launching on the inaugural mission of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket. But shortly after that, the spacecraft’s propulsion system suffered a malfunction and began to lose propellant. The company now says there is “no chance” of a moon landing. Meanwhile, NASA has delayed its lunar ambitions, pushing back the timeline of its flagship Artemis moon mission program. The space agency now expects Artemis 2, the first crewed launch under the program, to take place in 2025 and Artemis 3, which aims to deliver astronauts to the lunar surface, to launch in 2026. It’s the latest delay for the program that’s already significantly behind schedule and billions over budget as NASA business partners work to finish up the needed tech.

— CNBC’s Samantha Subin, Jesse Pound, Diana Olick, Dan Mangan, Kevin Breuninger and Michael Sheetz contributed to this report.

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