8 Key Items Shaping the Stock Market Monday

These are the early headlines and other items catching our attention that are poised to influence the start of the trading day. As we share this collection of market drivers, U.S. equity futures point to a move lower when the market opens later this morning.

1. Expectations for a U.S. government shutdown spiked over the weekend, with bettors now placing a 78% chance of that happening by Jan. 31, according to activity on the prediction site Polymarket. (MarketWatch).

2. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer vowed to block a massive spending package unless Republicans strip funding for the Department of Homeland Security, increasing the risk for a partial U.S. government shutdown.(Bloomberg)

3. Gold prices tore past another milestone, with tariff threats against Canada and the possibility of a fresh U.S. government shutdown adding fuel to the metal's historic rally. Futures for the precious metal rose 2% to surpass $5,000 a troy ounce. Fresh trade tensions and a weakening dollar may have spurred precious metals to new heights. (WSJ)

We have nice exposure to gold through our positions in Equinix Gold (EQX) , IAMGOLD (IAG) , and Kinross Gold (KGC) in our EPS Diplomats Model. Silver prices are also moving higher, good for Pan American Silver (PAAS) shares in the same model.

4. The yen jumped, and the dollar weakened on Monday as investors decided the so-called rate check was the biggest sign yet of official disquiet toward the sliding Japanese currency and that the next step could be an intervention to buoy it. That the calls were made in U.S. hours by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York also fanned speculation President Donald Trump’s administration might be willing to unite with Japan to rescue the yen for the first time since 1998… (Bloomberg)

5. The European Commission has launched an investigation into Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok over the production of explicit imagery, Regina Doherty, a member of the European parliament representing Ireland, said in a statement on Monday. The investigation will assess whether X has complied with its obligations under EU digital legislation, including requirements relating to risk mitigation, content governance, and the protection of fundamental rights, the lawmaker said. (Reuters)

6. Apple (AAPL) appears to be less than a month away from unveiling the results of this partnership. The company has been planning an announcement of the new Siri in the second half of February, when it will give demonstrations of the functionality… But that’s only the first phase. As...reported last week, Apple plans to unveil a fully reimagined Siri at this year’s WWDC. (Bloomberg)

This suggests the AI-enabled Siri revamp that is a net potential catalyst for (AAPL) shares is coming sooner than previously expected.

7. Economic data today per TipRanks: Durable Orders (November), Chicago Fed National Activity Index (October, November)

8. Companies reporting today per TipRanks: Steel Dynamics (STLD) , Alexandria RE (ARE) , Crane (CR) , Graco (GGG) , Nucor (NUE) , and Sanmina (SANM)

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At the time of publication, TheStreet Pro Portfolio was long AAPL, EQX, IAG, KGC and PAAS.