Japan Shares May Turn Lower Again On Tuesday

TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market ticked higher again on Monday, one session after snapping the three-day winning streak in which it had rallied more than 1,700 points or 3.4 percent. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 50,580-point plateau although it may hand back those gains on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to lower ahead of the FOMC meeting later this week. The European markets were mixed and little changed and the U.S. bourses were soft and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Nikkei finished modestly higher on Monday as gains from the automobile producers and technology stocks were capped by weakness from the financial sector.

For the day, the index added 90.07 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 50,581.94 after trading between 50,224.65 and 50,678.05.

Among the actives, Nissan Motor accelerated 3.08 percent, while Mazda Motor perked 0.18 percent, Toyota Motor advanced 0.92 percent, Honda Motor added 0.56 percent, Softbank Group stumbled 3.27 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial slumped 1.23 percent, Mizuho Financial collected 0.05 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial sank 0.83 percent, Mitsubishi Electric soared 3.42 percent, Sony Group dropped 0.74 percent, Panasonic Holdings gained 0.41 percent and Hitachi improved 0.57 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed but quickly headed south and spent the balance of the session well under water.

The Dow dropped 215.67 points or 0.45 percent to finish at 47,739.32, while the NASDAQ sank 32.22 points or 0.14 percent to close at 23,545.90 and the S&P 500 fell 23.89 points or 0.35 percent to end at 6,846.51.

The modest pullback on Wall Street reflected profit taking following recent strength in the markets, which saw the NASDAQ and S&P 500 reach their best closing levels in a month last Friday.

Overall trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision on Wednesday.

With the Fed widely expected to lower interest rates by another quarter point, traders are likely to pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about the likelihood of further rate cuts next year.

Crude oil prices slumped on Monday as the U.S. dollar strengthened ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, which has largely been priced in. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was down $1.28 or 2.13 percent at $58.80 per barrel.

Closer to home, Japan will see November numbers for its M2 money stock later this morning, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 1.4 percent - down from 1.6 percent in October.

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This financial company was just added to the S&P 500, and its stock is surging

MarketWatch

By Emily Bary

Ares is getting the nod over Strategy as the index looks to replace Kellanova

Michael Arougheti is the CEO of Ares Management, which will join the S&P 500 this week.

Fresh of the announcement of three forthcoming S&P 500 entrants, the index committee is back with one more.

Ares Management (ARES) is set to join the benchmark index before the opening bell on Dec. 11, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices on Monday. The move comes as Mars Inc. is due to close on its $36 billion deal for Kellanova (K), the maker of Pringles and Pop-Tarts.

The announcement means that Ares Management, an asset manager, will become part of the S&P 500 SPX ahead of the three companies announced after Friday's close. Carvana (CVNA), CRH (CRH) and Comfort Systems USA (FIX) officially join the index before the open on Dec. 22, as part of the typical quarterly rebalance.

See more: Carvana gets a spot in the S&P 500 ahead of these tech stocks

Ares was one of the largest companies eligible for inclusion in the S&P 500, according to Stephens analyst Melissa Roberts' recent screen of contenders. The S&P 500 isn't simply a list of the largest U.S. companies, and the index committee has latitude when choosing new members, provided the companies meet criteria related to profitability, market capitalization and more.

The financial-services sector was the most underweight in the index relative to its broad-market weighting, according to Roberts' analysis.

Shares of Ares surged 7% in Monday's after-hours trading. A place in the S&P 500 is a form of street cred for components, plus it means that funds tracking the benchmark index will have to buy up shares.

Ares made the cut over Marvell Technology (MRVL), the chip company whose $78 billion market cap made it the largest candidate for inclusion. Also missing out this round were Vertiv Holdings (VRT), a data-center infrastructure company, and Strategy (MSTR), the cryptocurrency holding company, though there has been debate on Wall Street about whether Strategy is actually eligible since it doesn't have a significant operating business.

-Emily Bary

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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S&P 500 Announces Aries Will Replace Kellanova — Barrons.com

Dow Jones Newswires

By Matthew Bemer

Ares Management is headed to the S&P 500 Index.

The investment firm will replace Kellanova, which owns Pringles, Cheez-It, Pop-Tarts, and other snack brands. Private company Mars Inc. has agreed to acquire the company, and the deal is expected to close soon.

Ares, with a market capitalization of $54 billion, is one of the largest companies by market capitalization not currently in the S&P 500 index. It was one of the top candidates for inclusion in the S&P 500 when the index made its rebalancing announcement on Friday. Carvana, CRH, and Comfort Systems USA got the go-ahead, while Ares was left out.

Shares of Ares are up 7.5% in the after-hours session after the announcement.

The change will take place ahead of the open on Dec. 11.

Write to Matthew Bemer at matt.bemer@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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NZX 50 Ticks Higher in Morning Trade

Trading Economics

The NZX 50 rose 32 points, or 0.2%, to 13,518 in Tuesday morning trade after being almost flat in the previous session, mainly supported by gains in energy, utilities, communication services, and healthcare.

Expectations of US monetary policy easing this week continued to lift sentiment.

Monday’s Chinese trade data, New Zealand’s top trading partner, also supported the market after coming in better than expected.

However, traders were awaiting Chinese consumer and producer price figures for November as a guide to the mainland’s economic outlook amid persistently weak domestic demand.

Meanwhile, financials and consumer discretionary stocks traded in the red, capping gains.

Among early gainers were Contact Energy (0.8%), Auckland International Airport (0.7%), Fisher & Paykel (0.7%), Port of Tauranga (0.7%), Skellerup Holdings (0.6%), and Ebos Group (0.4%).

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NYSE American Composite Market Diary

Dow Jones Newswires

                       Today   Previous 
                       -----   -------- 
  Advanced                95        126 
  Declined               177        153 
  Unchanged               17         16 
  Total Issues           289        295 
  New Highs                2         10 
  New Lows                 5          4 
 
Source: WSJ Market Data Group

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Nasdaq Composite Market Diary

Dow Jones Newswires

                       Today   Previous 
                       -----   -------- 
 Advanced             2,121      2,146 
 Declined             2,615      2,600 
 Unchanged              176        175 
 Total Issues         4,912      4,921 
 New Highs              195        222 
 New Lows                98         65 
 
Source: WSJ Market Data Group

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NYSE Composite Market Diary

Dow Jones Newswires