Wednesday marked the biggest post-Christmas rally for U.S. stocks ever amid strong retail sales indications, surging oil prices and positive headlines from the White House. The DJIA jumped 1,086.25 points, or 4.98%, posting its largest single-day point gain in its history, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq recorded their best days since March 2009. Santa's trip to Wall Street is not coming easy, however, with futures pointing to a significant decline for the three major U.S. stock indexes ahead of the open. (SA)

The U.S. Department of Commerce will not publish economic data - including GDP, inflation and other figures - during the ongoing partial government shutdown, an agency spokeswoman told the WSJ. The closure is set to enter its sixth day after the President said he was prepared to wait as long as it takes to get $5B in border wall funding. (WSJ)

If you thought the US was protectionist – look abroad for context.  India will ban e-commerce companies from selling products in which they have an equity interest, which could impact Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart. The companies also can't form exclusive deals with sellers, but they can make bulk purchases through their wholesalers or retail groups and then sell those products with agreements. (SA)

A U.S. trade team will travel to Beijing the week of Jan. 7 to hold talks with Chinese officials, according to Bloomberg. Since President Trump and Xi Jinping came to a temporary truce almost a month ago, China has slashed import tariffs and drafted a law to prevent forced technology transfers. Trade tensions have weighed on the world's second-largest economy, with the latest data showing industrial profits suffering their first drop in three years. (Bloomberg)

With Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management, a Registered Investment Advisor I am Josh Fenili.