Reuters/Kim Hong-Ji
Employees of the Korea Exchange (KRX) pose in front of the final stock price index during a photo opportunity for the media at the ceremonial closing event of the 2016 stock market in Seoul, South Korea/
It's the final trading day of 2016. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 13.4% year-to-date heading into the final trading day of the year while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hold respective gains of 10.1% and 8.5%.
Theresa May's Brexit timeline is "totally impossible." Jean-Claude Piris, the head of the EU Council's legal service from 1988 to 2010, told the Financial Times that UK Prime Minister Theresa May's plan to negotiate a UK-EU trade deal by 2019 is "totally impossible" and that it could take up to 10 years.
Oil trades near a 1.5-year high. West Texas Intermediate crude oil is higher by 0.2% at $53.88 per barrel, and is flirting with its best close since July 2015.
The ruble is sliding after Obama imposes fresh sanctions on Russia.Russia's currency trades down 1.7% at 61.2650 per dollar after President Obama ordered the removal of 35 Russian diplomats from the United States, in addition to announcing the closure of two Russian compounds in New York and Maryland, as a response to Russia's alleged role in election hacking.
2016 was a tough year for IPOs. Global initial public offering volume fell 31% to $130.6 billion, according to Thomson Reuters Equity Capital Markets data.
Tesla is on track for its first losing year since its IPO.The electric automaker has fallen more than 10% in 2016 and is looking at its first down year since its 2010 IPO. Tesla finished Thursday's session at $214.68 per share, up more than 1,000% from its July 2010 IPO price.
Toshiba is "burning cash at an alarming rate." According to one Reuters source, Toshiba is facing a writedown of as much as 500 billion yen ($4.3 billion) as a result of its acquisition of Chicago Bridge & Iron, according to one Reuters source, but it cannot sell shares to raise cash because of restrictions imposed after its 2015 scandal.
Stock markets around the world are mixed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (+1%) led the gains in Asia and Britain's FTSE (-0.4%) lags in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open up 0.3% near 2,252.
US economica data is light. Chicago PMI will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET and the Baker Hughes rig count will cross the wires at 1 p.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is higher by 1 basis point at 2.48%.
Markets around the world are closed on Monday. US equity markets are open for a full session on Friday while the US Treasury market will see an early 2 p.m. ET close.