TheStreet's J.D. Durkin brings the latest business headlines from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as markets open for trading Wednesday, December 27th.
Full Video Transcript Below:
J.D. DURKIN: I’m J.D. Durkin - reporting from the New York Stock Exchange. Here’s what we’re watching on TheStreet today.
Stocks are coming off yet another winning session on Wall Street as markets continue the “Santa Claus Rally,” a time when stocks typically outperform. All three major averages are looking to close out the year in positive territory … the Dow is looking to end the year up 13 percent, the S&P up 24 percent, and the Nasdaq up 44 percent. The S&P 500 is only 22 points away from closing at a new all-time high.
Investors are particularly optimistic as they look ahead to eventual interest rate cuts. Markets are currently pricing in an over 70 percent chance of a rate cut in March.
Meanwhile, if you’re looking to return your Christmas gift, you may want to double-check the fine print. Research shows that the days of unlimited free returns could be behind us, as more and more companies start to charge for mail-in returns.
According to “Happy Returns,” a logistics company that specializes in returns, 81 percent of merchants are charging a fee to send back items. And it’s not just the small companies … names like Abercrombie, Zara, J.Crew, H&M, and Macy’s have all added fees for mail-in returns, with some charging up to $7.
But this doesn't come as much of a surprise … analysts estimate that companies are losing roughly 50 percent of their margin on returns, once you factor in the cost of selling the item and processing the return.
That’ll do it for your daily briefing. From the New York Stock Exchange, I’m J.D. Durkin with TheStreet.
