10 Things You Need To Know Before European Markets Open
Wall Street Closed At Record Levels. The major US indexes closed at historic highs on Monday. The Dow gained 0.9% to hit a record of 17,959.4 and the S&P 500 advanced 0.4% to an all-time high of 2,078.5.
North Korea Goes Dark. The country's internet was shut down for hours on Monday before being restored in what some believe to be a cyberattack, although the reason for the outage has not been confirmed.
Russian Regulators Take Over A Leading Retail Bank. Russia's Deposit Insurance Agency said on Monday that it had temporarily taken over National Bank Trust and "was prepared to provide up to 30 billion rubles ($549 million) in funding as it sought an investor from among the ranks of Russia's other major banks to take over ultimate control," the Wall Street Journal reports.
UK GDP For Q3 Is Coming. The UK Office for National Statistics will publish the final gross domestic product figures for the third quarter at 9:30 a.m. GMT (4:30 a.m. ET). Economists predict official data to show that GDP grew by 0.8% in the three months to September compared with the previous quarter, and an upward revision from the last estimate of 0.7%.
2015 Will Stink For Russia. According to a Reuters poll of economists' forecasts, the "Russian economy will slide next year into its first recession since the global financial crisis and inflation will be close to double digits."
Germany's Anti-Immigration Group Stages A Record Rally. An anti-immigration group called PEGID, or Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, took to the streets of Dresden on Monday in its largest demonstration to date with 17,000 people. The participants sang Christmas carols and listened to protests against immigrants and asylum-seekers.
Alstrom Will Fork Over $772 Million (£494 Million). The French industrial giant has agreed to pay the largest ever criminal fine levied by the United States for foreign bribery to settle charges that the company paid government officials in countries such as Indonesia and Egypt to win power contracts.
Tripadvisor Gets Slapped With A €500,000 (£392,000) Fine. The travel website was fined by Italy's competition regulator for publishing misleading information in its reviews, the BBC reports. The US company has denied the allegations.
Asian Markets Are Mixed. Japanese markets are shut for the Emperor's Birthday holiday. The Hong Kong's Hang Seng is currently down 0.17%.
It's A Busy Day For US Economic Data. Stay tuned for fresh data on durable good orders, GDP, income, spending, and consumer confidence.