AAPL, DIS, TSLA, QCOM, VNE, FB, SEAC: Trending Stocks Today 14 Dec

Markets slipped yesterday as investors nervously await the Fed's final FOMC meeting of the year on Wednesday. After the CPI hit 6.8% on Friday, there are strong expectations the Fed will taper bond purchases and look at raising rates.

Nevertheless, many think the year will end on a high, and FactSet analysts have predicted the S&P 500 will close at or above 5,000 by the end of 2022. In fact, these industry analysts, in aggregate, predict the S&P 500 will have a closing price of 5,225 in 12 months.

Back to today and markets are expected to continue to be bearish. US equities are lower in Tuesday midday trading, near worst levels. Growth is a big underperformer vs value.

Omicron continues to pose a concern, but symptoms are still thought to be mild, and a booster vaccine dose should help fight it. Meanwhile, the UK experienced its first Omicron-related death.

The Saudi oil minister says the daily oil output may fall to 30m barrels by 2030 due to inadequate investment, risking an energy crisis.

Oil down. Gold flat. Industrial metals mixed. Cryptocurrencies lower.

In geopolitics, the US congress is nearing an agreement on a bill to punish China over its treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority. While European diplomats warn, time is running out to revive Iran's nuclear deal as Tehran refuses to accept new demands.

Here's some of the key stock market news trending today: 

• Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is marching towards a $3 Trillion valuation. Meanwhile, the Labor Dept is opening a whistle-blower investigation as the Financial Times reports a former employee claims she was fired under a false pretext.

• The UK's CMA finds Apple-Google duopoly limits competition, choice.

• Disney (NYSE: DIS) is optimistically negotiating a deal with YouTube TV to keep its Disney content airing. However, if an agreement can't be reached, YouTube will drop its monthly price from $65 to $50 without Disney network content. The contract expires on December 17.

• Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock slipped 5% yesterday while simultaneously founder Elon Musk was named TIME person of the year.

• In September, it was reported that Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) had made a binding bid for Veoneer (NYSE: VNE). Now it seems the purchase is taking an unusual twist. Private equity firm SSW Partners is buying Veoneer to then reportedly spin-off its autonomous-vehicle software business to Qualcomm. According to a Financial Times source, it is believed this route to purchase is being taken to avoid destroying value. Meanwhile, Qualcomm gets precisely what it wants without any additional business assets that are unrelated to the autonomous vehicle business.

• Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) (NASDAQ: FB) is reportedly paying Meta Financial Group $60m for its name. This was agreed upon before Facebook announced its name change.

• Triller, an American video-sharing social networking service, is in talks to go public via a merger with SeaChange (NASDAQ: SEAC). The deal is expected to result in a valuation of $5.1bn, far higher than Triller's most recent valuation of $1.25bn.

• MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) to buy Chilean payment services provider Redelcom. This strengthens the business position of its Mercado Pago unit, the largest fintech in Latin America.

• South Korea approves the Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine produced by SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS Co.

• Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) has agreed to buy US biotech company Arena Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ARNA) in a deal valued at around $6.7bn.

• According to a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, the metaverse market could be worth $800bn by 2024 as Big Tech invests heavily in advancing it. 

• Global Biotech firm CSL (ASX: CSL) is preparing to raise $4bn in equity through the Bank of America and Goldman Sachs. It's expected to consist of a $3bn placement and a $1bn share purchase plan. The funds are expected to be used to acquire Vifor Pharma. This could be the largest equity capital markets deal in Australia this year.

• Brown & Brown (NYSE: BRO), a leading insurance brokerage, is to buy the assets of Dealer Admin Services.

• Fresh Vine Wine prices IPO with 2.2m shares at $10.

Here's some of the news coming out of Asia: 

• Weibo (NASDAQ: WB) has been fined 3 million yuan ($470,000) by Chinese internet regulators for publishing illegal information. Weibo has now received 44 penalties totaling 14.3 million yuan from January to November.

Finally, let's take a look at some of today's biggest cryptocurrency news:

• Gwyneth Paltrow invests in green bitcoin miner TeraWulf.

• Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) continue to fall.

• SafeMoon implements a V2 upgrade complete with new wallet features.

If you enjoyed reading this overview of what to expect in the financial market today, why not read our in-depth reports on ESG investing and Healthcare investing. Or check out our 12 investing themes for 2022.