What to Expect in the Markets This Week

This will be another holiday-shortened trading week, with stock and bond markets closed on Wednesday for the New Year’s Day holiday. Bond markets will also close early on Tuesday for New Year’s Eve. And we’ll near whether or not we got a Santa Claus Rally.

Noteworthy real estate and construction updates could come this week, with pending home sales for November, home price indexes for October, and November construction spending data all on tap. Investors can also look forward to Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) survey data for the manufacturing sector.

On Friday, Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin will speak to the Maryland Bankers Association. 

Monday, Dec. 30

• Chicago Business Barometer (December)
• Dallas Fed manufacturing survey (December)
• Pending home sales (November)

Tuesday, Dec. 31 (New Year’s Eve)

• S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index (October)
• FHFA House Price Index (October)
• Bond markets close at 2 p.m. EST

Wednesday, Jan. 1 (New Year’s Day)

• Stock and bond markets closed

Thursday, Jan. 2

• Initial jobless claims (Week ending Dec. 28)
• Construction spending (November)
• S&P final U.S. manufacturing PMI (December)
• Lifecore Biomedical (LFCR) reports earnings
• Tesla (TSLA) fourth-quarter deliveries expected

Friday, Jan. 3

• Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing PMI (December)
• Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin delivers remarks

Markets Close for New Year’s Day Holiday

Investors will take a break on Wednesday for the New Year’s Day holiday as both stock and bond markets will be closed. On Tuesday, the bond market will close at 2 p.m. ET for New Year’s Eve.

Real Estate and Construction Data Due

On Monday, pending home sales data from the National Association of Realtors will show whether the uptick in housing purchases continued in November. It’s not the only piece of real estate data that investors will be getting, as the Tuesday release of the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index could show whether home prices hit another record high in October. The Federal Housing Finance Agency is also set to release home price data on Tuesday.

The Census Bureau will release construction spending data for November on Thursday. The report covers activity in the housing market, as well as non-residential building activity like factories and roads. 

The Labor Department’s weekly initial jobless claim report will follow its normal Thursday release schedule. It comes after the number of workers filing for first-time unemployment benefits in the prior week was slightly below projections.

Also in store this week is PMI data for the manufacturing sector, with S&P Global releasing its survey on Thursday, and the widely followed ISM data coming on Friday. 

Also on Friday, Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin will address the Maryland Bankers Association, with his comments coming after other Fed officials recently struck an optimistic tone about interest rates after the central bank lowered its projections for rate reductions in 2025.

Few corporate earning reports are scheduled for the week. Tesla investors will likely watch for the company’s latest quarterly deliveries report, which is expected Thursday. Minnesota-based Lifecore Biomedical is also set to release quarterly financial results that day.

Will Markets Provide a Santa Claus Rally?

Investors sometimes refer to the tendency of stocks to rise during the last five trading sessions of one year and the first two sessions of the next as the “Santa Claus Rally.” That means that Friday’s close—marking the end of the second session of 2025—will provide this season’s final reading.