This report comes from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open keeps investors updated on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

Big car merger
Nissan and Honda Already started Formal merger discussionsthe companies announced Monday. Honda Chief Executive Officer Mibe Toshihiro Mibe said the combined group has the potential to achieve revenue of 30 trillion yen ($191.4 billion) and operating profit of more than 3 trillion yen. After Mibe held a press conference, Honda’s stock price soared 12.7%.

Taiwan ranks among the top markets in Asia
As of December 23, Taiwan Taiex has risen by 28.85%, becoming the world’s largest exchange. Asia Pacific’s best-performing stock markets 2024. The Taiwan Stock Exchange’s focus on technology and technology-related stocks has helped boost its performance. TSMC surge 82.12% in 2024, while Foxconn – which trades at Hon Hai Precision Industry — up 77.51%.

Positive start to the holiday
US market Monday’s rise This comes amid strong performance among large-cap technology stocks. The New York Stock Exchange was closed early Tuesday for Christmas Eve. European regional Stoke 600 index Add 0.14%. Volkswagen shares down 2% as automaker hits target trade Workers went on strike on Friday, with 35,000 jobs expected to be cut by 2030.

UK GDP is not very good
this UK economy fails to expand for the three months to September, according to revised data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday. Gross domestic product had been expected to grow 0.1% in the third quarter. Earlier this month, ONS data showed the UK economy unexpectedly grew Shrink 0.1% October.

(PRO) Stocks with room to grow in 2025
this S&P 500 Index It has increased by more than 20% for two consecutive years. There are still plenty of stocks with plenty of room to grow through 2025. CNBC Pro uses So does its stock screenerI found that the company has at least Potential growth of 30% in 2025price target based on Wall Street consensus.

U.S. markets started the trading week with holiday cheer. this S&P 500 Index up 0.73% Dow Jones Industrial AverageIt recovered earlier losses and rose 0.16%. this Nasdaq Composite Index Since large tech companies such as NVIDIA, Tesla and meta platform.

However, Bitcoin proxy stocks micro strategy Cryptocurrency prices fell below $93,000 on Monday, sending the Nasdaq 100 down 8.8% on its first day.

Still, MicroStrategy remains one of the top-performing U.S. technology companies with a market capitalization of $5 billion or more, according to FactSet. Its shares have soared 426% so far this year, largely thanks to the company’s Bitcoin Stockswhich started accumulating in 2020.

MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin holdings are now worth about $42 billion as the price of Bitcoin rose following the election of Donald Trump. This is the basis on which the company’s market capitalization has surged from approximately $1.1 billion to $82 billion since it began buying large amounts of Bitcoin.

Investors looking to take advantage of MicroStrategy’s explosive rise should remember that the company’s shares are currently trading on the back of the price of Bitcoin.

On the other hand, if the price of Bitcoin plummets for any reason (although cryptocurrencies can be quite volatile), MicroStrategy’s stock price could also fall.

Trading is likely to be thin this week. U.S. markets will be closed early on Tuesday and will be closed on Wednesday for Christmas.

But thin trading doesn’t mean the market is less volatile. “With the market’s primary uptrend still intact, we’re not giving up on the possibility of Santa Claus coming to Broad & Wall this year,” Piper Sandler chief market technician Craig Johnson said in a note.

As investors celebrate the holidays — and the S&P Index’s 25.25% year-to-date gain — they may find an extra gift under the Christmas tree.

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

The CNBC Daily Open will be on hiatus and will return next year. happy holidays!