i'll have the full seven-day forecast in moments. >>> now we do want to check in with julia boorstin at cnbc world headquarters for a look at the news before the bell. good morning, julia. >> good morning to you, marla. futures are higher this morning after the markets closed near the flat line on tuesday. it was the lightest trading day of the year with just 2 billion shares changing hands. a positive report on consumer confidence was over shadowed by a bigger than expected drop in u.s. home prices. news that sears holdings is closing 120 sears and kmart stores after a poor start to the holiday season weighed on market sentiment. europe is in focus as itly tries to sell billions in government bonds. asia fell overnight. europe is positive. yesterday the dow slipped two points to end at 12,291, the nasdaq rising six points to 2,625. sharp, samsung and five other makers of lcd screens agreed to pay $551 million to settle price fixing charges. lcd monitors are used in smart phones as well as tvs. the bulk of the money will go to refund customers who bought the products between 1999 and

we turn to julia boorstin live at cnbc headquarters. >> good morning to you. happy holidays. right now futures are strading slightly lower. this is coming off them logging their best four days since september. historically the final week of the year is when we see a santa rally occur. stocks have posted average gains of 1.6%. today asia and europe are trading higher. we get reports on home prices and consumer confidence and unemployment. and the manufacturing coming up on tuesday. the dow is rising 124 points on friday to end 12,294. the nasdaq adding 19 on friday to 2618. consumers seem to have gotten their second wind and are ready to hit stores in search of post christmas bargains. they expect yesterday dugged mega monday is going to be the third busiest slopping day of the season. ibm says online sales were up 10% from last year. >>> the u.s. could legalize many forms of internet gambling, including online poker. originally read as banning all gambling across state line ls. actually only barred betting on sporting events and contests. individual states would have to agree

for the rest of the news before the bell, we turn to julia boorstin live at cnbc headquarters. good morning, julia. >> reporter: good morning to you. it looks like futures are pointing to a higher open. the dow up about 23 points, this after markets closed near the flat line on tuesday which was the lightest trading day of the year with just 2 billion shares changing hands. a positive report on consumer confidence was overshadowed by a bigger than expected drop in u.s. home prices. as you mentioned, news that sears holdings is closing 120 sears and kmart stores after a poor start to the holiday season also weighed on market sentiment. europe is in focus this week as italy sells billion in government bonds. asia fell overnight, but europe is positive. the dow slipped two points yesterday to 12,291. the nasdaq rising six points to 2,625. morgan stanley is cutting 580 jobs from its four offices in new york city. that's more than a third of the 1600 cuts the bank announced earlier this month. morgan stanley saying rolling lay-offs began december 15th. the company sites economic reas

julia boorstin has the market wrap. >> let's take a look at how stocks are trading right now with juste trading day. the dow jones up by 140 points. s&p up by more than 13 and nasdaq higher by 24 points. after falling yesterday, stocks resuming their upward move into the year end. positive data offsets concerns about the euro zone. pending home sales reported this morningç soared to a 19-month high compared to expectations of a 2% increase. leading were banking stocks, jpmorgan and b of a after a sell off. volume is still very thin and we are in the final trading week of the year. one good sign is the volatility index considered the best gauge of fear in the markets. it dipped below 23 that is i good sign. that's it from cnbc, first in business word wide. back to you. >>> you remember repeal? it is one of the big republican promises in 2010. it was in three words, their entire health care policy. they will repeal obama care and replace it with something. they said so. all the time. >> our pledge to america is to repeal and replace obama care. >> instant effort to repeal and replace th

for more on that and the news before the bell, let's turn to julia boorstin live at cnbc world headquarters. >>> good morning to you. wall street will look to add to last week's gains. right now the futures are mixed. the s&p 500 and the dow would be opening lower. nasdaq would be opening a fraction of one point. now the markets logged the best four days since september last week. and historically this week, the final week of the year is when we see a traditional santa rally occur. since 1969 the stocks have posted average gains of 1.6%. today asia and europe are higher and it will be a late week for economic data. we'll get reports on home prices and consumer confidence and unemployment and manufacturing information will come on thursday. the nasdaq added 19 points on friday to 2618. toyota has rolled out the latest hybrid model, the aqua. the car will be sold as the prius "c." it boasts fuel economy as 84 miles a gallon, outstripping the 77 miles per gallon of its cousin, the regular prius. the starts price is set at $22,000. and now the is letting a tax credit for installing chargers exp

. >>> i'm julia boorstin with your cnbc market wrap. a good day all around on wall street.&p up 13. and the nasdaq closed up 23 points. leading the pack, jpmorgan and bank of america both rebounding after yesterday's sell-off. also showing signs of life, the euro, which made up some losses against the dollar. >>> still, continued volatility in the eurozone held it near a 15-month low. on the jobs front, mixed news. weekly jobless claims rose last week, but the four-week average still fell to the lowest level in more than three years. >>> those for-sale signs you've seen on lawns everywhere this year, get ready to watch some come down. pending home sales hit a 19-month high. >>> and still low, but not bottom basement mortgage rates for fixed 30-year loans climbed from a record low to 3.95%. finally, the government of belgium wants to know if two popular beer makers are engaged in price fixing. both anheuser-busch and heineken announced a price hike ahead. that's it from cnbc, first in business worldwide. now back to "hardball." >>> welcome back to "hardball." with romney sho