There are a handful of trading days left before New Year, but it's worth taking stock following a major US rally that helped the S&P 500 dodge a bear market.
The Dow rose 1,086 points on Wednesday, gaining 5%. The S&P 500 soared 5% and the Nasdaq added 5.8%.
The banner performance helped US stocks claw back some of their declines since the start of the month, but the Dow is still down roughly 10% in December. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 are sitting on losses in the same range.
There were signs early Thursday that Wall Street could be in for another punishing day. US stock futures were sharply lower, and global markets were mixed.
2. Walmart and Amazon in India: The Indian government has tightened foreign investment rules for e-commerce retailers, dealing a blow to Amazon (AMZN) and Walmart (WMT).
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement that it will prohibit online retailers from selling products manufactured or marketed by companies in which they have an equity stake.
The changes also bar online retailers from entering into exclusive partnerships with a seller. The changes will take effect February 1.
"We are evaluating the circular at the moment," said an Amazon spokesperson. Flipkart, which is owned by Walmart, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
3. Gatwick sold: French construction group Vinci said Thursday that it will pay £2.9 billion ($3.7 billion) for a 50.1% stake in London's Gatwick Airport.
Gatwick, which was forced to halt flights before Christmas because of drone sightings, is the eighth busiest airport in Europe. In Britain, only Heathrow handles more passengers.
4. Global market overview: Hong Kong's Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite shed more than 0.6% after weak Chinese industrial data highlighted the difficulties the world's second largest economy is facing.
European markets were in the red on their first day of trading since Monday. US crude oil prices were down 2% after a big jump on Wednesday.
Investors still have plenty of reasons to be nervous about stock markets.
"To call for a bottom, we need at least a couple of days of strength, not just in price, but also in trading volume, breadth of the market," said Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at online broker FXTM.
5. Coming this week:
Thursday — US government shutdown enters 5th day
Friday — Pending home sales for November
Thursday — US government shutdown enters 5th day
Friday — Pending home sales for November
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