Stock Market Live December 8: GDP Growth Forecasts Lift S&P 500 (VOO) Monday
Quick Read
-
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent predicts 3% U.S. GDP growth for 2025.
-
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will decide whether to lower interest rates one final time for the year.
- Are you ahead, or behind on retirement? SmartAsset's free tool can match you with a financial advisor in minutes to help you answer that today. Each advisor has been carefully vetted, and must act in your best interests. Don't waste another minute; learn more here.(Sponsor)
Live Updates
Mastercard Stock Is a Buy -- Or Is It?
HSBC analyst Saul Martinez upgraded MasterCard (NYSE: MA | MA Price Prediction) stock to buy with a $633 price target this morning.
“As a leading global payment network benefiting from economies of scale and scope,” said Martinez, “Mastercard is well positioned to benefit from the displacement of cash even as its sizable services businesses continues to grow at an outsized pace. In addition, the company’s smaller size relative to Visa, higher proportions of revenue coming from non-US (which, on average, are growing faster than the US) and value added services and solutions businesses, and client-focused mindset suggest that Mastercard will grow revenue and EPS faster than Visa.”
The analyst anticipates low double digit revenue growth and mid-teen EPS growth from Mastercard for the next few years. It’s not clear how “mid-teens” growth justifies MasterCard’s hefty 35x earnings valuation, however, and investors don’t seem 100% convinced by the buy thesis.
In afternoon trading, Mastercard stock is down more than 1%. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF is down 0.3%.
UBS Doubles Down on Micron
UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri reiterated his buy rating and $275 price target on Micron Technology (Nasdaq: MU) stock this morning, saying he sees “a favorable setup for MU into the [upcoming earnings release] and leave our estimates unchanged from prior in-quarter updates.”
That all sounds like some pretty no-news news, but Arcuri notes that his forecast for Micron’s earnings are “well ahead” Micron’s own guidance — essentially telling investors to expect an earnings beat for fiscal Q1 2026.
DRAM supplies continue to tighten, pushing up prices and broadening profit margins for Micron, says the analyst, and this all bodes very well for earnings.
Micron stock is up 2.3% in response to the note, but the Voo is now down 0.3%.
IBM to Buy Confluent at a Premium
S&P 500 component company IBM (NYSE: IBM) will acquire data streaming platform Confluent (Nasdaq: CFLT) in an $11 billion transaction that’s being couched in terms of its significance for the artificial intelligence market: “Confluent excels at preparing data for AI, keeping it clean and connected across systems and applications, eliminating silos inherent in agentic A.I.”
As IBM explains, the market for Confluent’s services has doubled in size over the past four years, to $100 billion.
The two tech companies signed a definitive agreement for the merger this morning. IBM will pay $31, in cash, for each outstanding share of Confluent, valuing the shares at approximately 6.7 times trailing revenue.
IBM’s own shares sell for a P/S ratio of less than 4.5x, but investors don’t seem to mind it paying a premium. Confluent stock is up more than 28% this morning, but IBM stock is also up, albeit only 1.5%.
The parties plan to close the transaction in mid-2026.
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made the rounds of Sunday talk shows to spread the news that is doing “better than we thought,” and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) likes the news. The Voo opened 0.1% on Monday morning.
“We’ve had 4% GDP growth in a couple of quarters,” Bessent told CBS News’ Face the Nation on Sunday, and “we’re going to finish the year … with 3% real GDP growth.” Gross domestic product grew only 0.6% in Q1, but 3.8% in Q2, and the Atlanta Fed estimates Q3 growth may have been 3.5%.
Not quite “4%” growth for “a couple of quarters,” but close (if you round up).
Meanwhile, the news from consumers is more mixed. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey last week showed a 53.3 reading, up 4.5 percentage points sequentially from November but down 28 points year over year.
That’s not necessarily good news, but it may help to give the Federal Open Markets Committee political cover to lower interest rates at its next meeting, as it’s forecast to do on Wednesday. This would please the stock market — a second reason for the Voo to be up this morning.
Earnings
There’s no big earnings news yet this morning, but later in the day we’re scheduled to get an update from Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) on its Q4 earnings numbers. Analysts will be looking for earnings of $4.88 per share on $3.3 billion in quarterly sales.
Tuesday should see earnings from S&P 500 component companies AutoZone (NYSE: AZO) and Campbell’s (NYSE: CPB).
Then on Wednesday: a slew of tech earnings news from Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE), and Synopsys (Nasdaq: SNPS).
Joel South has been an avid investor and financial writer for over 15 years, publishing thousands of articles analyzing stocks, markets, and investment strategies across multiple leading financial media platforms. He spent 12 years at The Motley Fool, where he worked as an investment analyst and Bureau Chief before ascending to direct the Fool.com investing news desk, overseeing editorial operations and content strategy. During his tenure, Joel co-hosted an investing podcast and became a recognized voice in financial media through numerous TV and radio appearances discussing stock market trends and investment opportunities.
Currently serving as General Manager and Managing Editor at 24/7 Wall Street, Joel has published hundreds of in-depth analyses focusing on large-cap stocks, dividend-paying equities, and market-moving developments. His comprehensive coverage spans earnings previews, price predictions, and investment forecasts for major companies across all sectors—from technology giants and semiconductor manufacturers to consumer brands and financial institutions. Joel's expertise encompasses t fundamental analysis, options market interpretation, institutional investor behavior, and translating complex market dynamics into clear, actionable insights for individual investors.
© William_Potter / iStock via Getty Images
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks
