This report comes from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open tells investors everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Do you like what you see? You can log in Here.

Mega automobile merger
Nissan And Honda Official merger discussions have begun, the two companies announced on Monday. Negotiations end in June 2025. Listed in Japan Honda Shares were last up 13.4% on Tuesday and are on track for their best day since October 2008 after the company announced plans to buy back 24% of its outstanding shares by December 23 next year.

Taiwan is at the top of the Asian markets
As of December 23, Taiwan’s Taiex had gained 28.85%, making it the best-performing stock market in Asia-Pacific in 2024. Taiex’s focus on technology and technology-related stocks helped boost its performance. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company rose 82.12% in 2024, and Foxconn – which trades as Hon Hai precision industry – advanced by 77.51%.

Positive start to the holidays
US markets rose on Monday on strong performance from major technology stocks. The New York Stock Exchange closes early Tuesday on Christmas Eve. Asia-Pacific stocks traded mixed on Tuesday. Japan Nikkei 225 fell about 0.4% even as Honda shares rose sharply. Now Hong Kong Hang Seng Index rose by more than 1%.

The UK GDP is not right
The British economy failed to grow in the three months to September, according to a revised figure from the Office for National Statistics published on Monday. Previous estimates had put gross domestic product at 0.1% in the third quarter. Earlier this month, data from the ONS showed that the UK economy unexpectedly contracted by 0.1% in October.

(PRO) Buffett’s largest war chest
Warren Buffett Berkshire Hathaway currently holds $325 billion in cash – the largest amount it has hoarded in absolute terms. According to Oppenheimer, cash now accounts for about 30% of Berkshire’s total assets, the highest share in 34 years. Buffett has sold large amounts of Apple and Bank of America stocks this year. Why is the 94-year-old legendary investor holding so much cash? Analysts comment.

US markets started the trading week in a holiday mood. The S&P 500 increased by 0.73% and the Dow Jones Industrial Averagerecovering from earlier losses, rose 0.16%. The Nasdaq Composite rose due to the strong performance of major technology companies such as B. by 0.98% Nvidia, Tesla And Metaplatforms.

However, shares of Bitcoin proxy Microstrategy fell 8.8% in its first day on the Nasdaq 100 index after the price of the cryptocurrency fell below $93,000 on Monday.

Still, MicroStrategy is still among the top-performing U.S. tech companies valued at $5 billion or more, according to FactSet data. Its shares are up 426% so far this year, largely thanks to the company’s Bitcoin holdings that it accumulated in 2020.

With the Bitcoin rally following Donald Trump’s election victory, MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin holdings are now worth around $42 billion. This is the basis for the company’s market capitalization to grow to $82 billion from about $1.1 billion since mass Bitcoin purchases began.

Investors looking to profit from MicroStrategy’s explosive rise should keep in mind that the company’s stock price is currently dependent on Bitcoin prices.

The downside to this is that if the Bitcoin price collapses for any reason – as volatile as cryptocurrencies can be – MicroStrategy shares could also stumble.

Trading is likely to be thin this week. Markets in the US will close earlier on Tuesday and take a break on Wednesday for Christmas Day.

But light trading doesn’t mean markets move just a little. “With the market’s primary uptrends still intact, we are not giving up on the potential for a Santa Claus to come to Broad & Wall this year,” Craig Johnson, chief market technician at Piper Sandler, said in a note.

As investors celebrate the festivities — and the S&P’s 25.25% year-to-date rise — they may find an additional gift under the tree.

— CNBC’s Yun Li, MacKenzie Sigalos and Ari Levy contributed to this report.

CNBC Daily Open will take a break and return next year. Happy Holidays!