5 things to know before the stock market opens Tuesday, December 19

Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:

Stocks keep chugging along. The three main indices closed higher again Monday, as the year’s rally moves toward a triumphant close. The broad-based S&P 500 is up 3.8% for December, fresh off its longest weekly winning streak in six years, while the blue chip Dow is up nearly 4%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is up almost 5%. The bulls are still grooving to the Federal Reserve’s indication last week that 2024 could bring three rate cuts after the central bank’s extended campaign against inflation. On Tuesday, investors will be watching for data on building permits and housing starts, while Atlanta Fed Governor Raphael Bostic is set to speak. Follow live market updates.

The U.S. military has had enough. Early Tuesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that the United States, along with several other nations, would band together to protect commercial ships that have come under fire in the Red Sea from Iranian-backed Houthi militants. The Houthis, in solidarity with the Palestinian group Hamas, have struck more than a dozen vessels since the war in Gaza started in early October. The attacks have forced major shipping and oil companies to redirect their traffic, disrupting the global supply chain.

Apple is putting the freeze on sales of a couple of its Watches, just days before Christmas. Due to an intellectual property disagreement, the tech giant will halt online sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 on Thursday afternoon and in-store sales after Sunday. Apple’s surprising move comes almost two months after the U.S. International Trade Commission released two orders to restrict the company’s ability to sell products using a blood oxygen feature following a dispute with medical technology firm Masimo.

The truck stops here. Trevor Milton, the founder of flagging electric- and hydrogen-powered truck maker Nikola, was sentenced to four years in prison and hit with a $1 million fine over federal fraud crimes. Prosecutors had been seeking 11 years for Milton, whom they compared to disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. (She was sentenced to a shade more than 11 years for her blood-machine fraud scheme.) Milton continued to deny that he committed any crimes during Monday’s sentencing. He’s out on bail while he appeals the term. Nikola shares, meanwhile, are trading under $1.

It was one of the biggest questions on Marvel fans’ minds: Would Disney drop Jonathan Majors, the acclaimed actor who was set to anchor the next phase of the MCU, over accusations that he assaulted his girlfriend? The answer turned out to be “yes.” Soon after Majors was convicted in a New York court on counts of assault and harassment stemming from the March incident, Disney-owned Marvel Studios dropped the “Creed III” star from his role as the villainous Kang the Conqueror. Disney was already under pressure, including from its own CEO, to get the Marvel Cinematic Universe buzzing again after a string of disappointing theatrical releases. Majors’ firing could give the entertainment giant a chance to rethink things and go in a different direction as it looks to win back viewers.

– CNBC’s Samantha Subin, Rebecca Picciotto, Lori Ann LaRocco, Jake Piazza, Michael Wayland, Dan Mangan and Sarah Whitten contributed to this report.

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