After the bell on Wednesday we saw several retailers report disappointing sales for the holiday season. OK, we all know the mall or “brick and mortar” is done and “no one goes there anymore,” but the reaction to the earnings news I saw was a bit surprising to me.

Futures for U.S. markets were lower late Wednesday, but investors on Thursday may take a run at bumping the Dow Jones Industrials over the record 20,000 mark amid a handful of economic indicators. The Dow and the S&P 500 slid 0.04% at 9:14 p.m. EST while Nasdaq lost 0.09%.

China has studied possible scenarios for the yuan and capital outflows this year and is preparing contingency plans, according to people familiar with the matter. The offshore yuan surged the most in a year.

Since the financial crisis, companies such as UBS Group AG and Julius Baer Group Ltd. have seen margins shrink amid record-low interest rates and a crackdown by the U.S. on banking secrecy. As the new government fuels expectations for higher interest rates, Switzerland’s banks stand to benefit because they still hold a large proportion of clients’ assets in dollars, said Martin Moeller, head of equity-portfolio management at Union Bancaire Privee in Geneva.

For a clue on how bearish foreign investors have become about Chinese stocks, take a look at Tencent Holdings Ltd. The Shenzhen-based technology giant has tumbled 13 percent from its September record, wiping $35 billion off the value of its shares, as overseas funds pulled money from Hong Kong and Chinese equities. The company’s large weighting on the Hang Seng Index — at 10 percent — helped make Hong Kong’s benchmark stock gauge one of the world’s worst performers last quarter.

For the world’s biggest bond managers, 2017 might just be the year that unconstrained funds finally live up to the hype. Although the bond funds — long marketed for their potential to shine in any environment — have failed to deliver consistently over the years, bond managers are convinced they’re about to have something of a moment.

The stock market just continues to grind higher and higher. Not counting today’s major surge, since Nov. 8, the S&P 500, alone, has advanced some 10%, and the broader market index was already well above its median valuation of 14.65 times earnings.

At risk of capital flight, China marked the new year with extra requirements for citizens converting yuan into foreign currencies. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the currency regulator, said in a statement Dec. 31 that it wanted to close loopholes exploited for purposes such as money laundering and illegally channeling money into overseas property.

At risk of capital flight, China marked the new year with extra requirements for citizens converting yuan into foreign currencies. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the currency regulator, said in a statement Dec. 31 that it wanted to close loopholes exploited for purposes such as money laundering and illegally channeling money into overseas property.

The dollar was stronger as the first full trading day of the New Year got going, with the rate-rise speculation that fueled the greenback’s best quarter since 2008 retaining its potency. Crude oil rose, and Australian shares gained, led by utilities and energy companies.

By Rob Stein, CEO and Founder, Astor Investment Management The latest market surge, as the Dow powers toward 20,000, is being called the “Trump stock market rally.”

European stocks advanced, erasing earlier losses, after Italy’s better-than-expected economic data helped confirm a trend of stronger manufacturing in the euro area. The Euro Stoxx 50 index was 0.4 percent higher as of 9:40 a.m. in London, while the U.K. and Swiss markets remained closed for a holiday.

On Wall Street, the rising dollar has been one of the most visible signals of growing optimism in the U.S. economy. For many other countries, it spells trouble.

The problem with lists of top picks for the year ahead is that they are just a starting point. If you have an effective trading approach, then you can still outperform others even if your stock picks are suboptimal.

Yet there were times during the year when it looked like stocks might be poised to fall sharply. Although turbulent periods in the markets abounded during 2016, including in January and in the weeks surrounding the presidential election, the worst one-day performance for the S&P 500 came on June 24, when the index fell by 76 points, or more than 3.5%.

Jim Cramer shares his views every day on RealMoney . Click here for a real-time look at his insights and musings.

The post-Trump rally came to an end this week, as the Dow missed its 20,000 milestone and stocks ended lower Friday, while finishing 2016 with big gains. Stocks closed Friday slightly lower, but posted robust gains for 2016.