Good morning. Today is Thursday, December 19th, and I'm Rena Sherble filling in for Julie Morgan.

Our top stories today, U.S. stock futures stabilize after sharp sell-off.

Could Amazon face a strike, and micron

shares slumped 16 percent? On Wednesday in the U.S., all three major indexes ended lower,

as the Fed reduced interest rates by 25 basis points, but signaled fewer cuts than previously

projected for next year, sparking a market sell-off.

U.S. stock futures, however, stabilized on Thursday with the Dow up 0.1%, the S&P 500 down 0.03%, and the

NASDAQ down, 0.17%. Falling below the $100,000 mark on Thursday was Bitcoin, retreating sharply from recent all-time highs following

signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve of fewer interest rate cuts in 2025.

As discussed in-depth on yesterday's Wall Street lunch, the Fed forecasted persistent inflation

and limited rate cuts. The outlook followed a widely expected quarter point

rate reduction by the central bank. In the bond market, the U.S. 10-year treasury yield is up two

basis points to just over 4.5%. Central banks in Europe will decide on monetary policy

today, including the Bank of England, which is expected

to hold borrowing cost steady, balancing persistent inflation concerns against indications

of slowing growth.

Asia-Pacific markets traded in the red on Thursday, tracking the fall sell-off on Wall Street

overnight.

Investors assessed the Bank of Japan's decision to keep its policy rate unchanged for the third straight meeting.

Meanwhile, caution mounted ahead of Friday's decision on key lending rates from the Chinese central bank.

The Japanese yen fell past $155 per dollar on Thursday, reaching a one-month low,

after the Bank of Japan left its policy rate unchanged as widely expected.

...