Before the Bell: Markets Open for a Half Day

New record for the S&P 500, while Europeans continue to favour electric and hybrid cars.

In the third quarter, the U.S. economy posted its strongest growth in two years, expanding by 4.3%. You might think that would cheer up not only President Trump but investors as well. Yet trading on Wall Street started quietly yesterday. There are two possible explanations. An economy performing better than expected is unlikely to prompt the central bank to cut dollar interest rates again anytime soon. Alternatively, looking ahead, there is less reason for optimism: U.S. consumer confidence, a reliable leading indicator, declined for the fifth consecutive month. The reading of 89.1 also came in below expectations (91). By the close, however, Wall Street managed to turn higher. The S&P 500 finished up half a percent at a new record, while the Nasdaq gained 0.6%. That still leaves the tech index just 1.7% below the record it set at the end of October. Nvidia added another 3%, while Amazon (+1.6%) and Alphabet (+1.5%) were also in fine form. European markets edged only 0.1% to 0.2% higher. Novo Nordisk performed as expected with a strong daily gain of 9.2%. The Bel20 ended flat, although Elia (+1.8%) and UCB (+1.4%) posted solid gains.

In Tokyo, the Topix is down 0.4% this morning. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index is up 0.2%. Today, most stock exchanges are open for only half a day. By midday, traders will already be heading home to prepare for Christmas Eve. Driving home for Christmas. Only in Japan and on the Chinese mainland will markets be open on 25 December. On 26 December, most exchanges will reopen, with the exception of Euronext, the London Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong exchange.

A Fantastic Year for Commodities

In London, shares of Anglo American closed 3% higher yesterday. Alongside peers Rio Tinto (+1.1%) and BHP Group (+0.5%), Anglo American is one of the world’s largest mining companies. So far this year, the stock is up 29%. That may seem modest given that 2025 has been a banner year for commodities, with record performances for gold (+71%), silver (+151%) and copper (+40%). But Anglo American is no longer a major producer of gold and silver. AngloGold Ashanti specialises in those metals, and its shares—ticker “AU”—have surged 288% this year. Anglo American has long focused instead on copper and iron ore. While the group benefits from strong copper prices, iron ore prices are up only about 3% this year. Against that backdrop, a 29% annual share price gain still represents a solid return for shareholders.

Europeans Opt for Electric and Hybrid Cars

Yesterday, Europe’s auto lobby ACEA reported that new car sales in Europe rose for the fifth consecutive month in November. The increase was driven by strong growth in countries such as Germany, Italy and Spain. Total sales in the EU, the United Kingdom and the European Free Trade Association rose 2.4% to 1.1 million vehicles. Electric and hybrid cars now account for nearly two-thirds of all new registrations. While the European Commission felt compelled last week to abandon its planned ban on combustion-engine car sales from 2035 in order to give the European auto sector some breathing room, these figures show that electric vehicle sales are already running at full speed. Among major brands, Volkswagen and Renault saw registrations rise by 4.1% and 3% respectively. Stellantis, by contrast, fell 2.7%, while Tesla dropped as much as 11.8%. The latter is increasingly being overtaken by Chinese competitor BYD, which saw its registrations surge by an astonishing 221.8%.

Did you know…

that Tesla and BYD both sold their first electric vehicles in 2008? Even more striking: the very first electric car was built as early as 1888, two years after the first petrol-powered car.

This article was translated from Dutch and was originally published on Spaarvarkens.be.