Opinion: Multiple macroeconomic and regulatory events in early 2026 may become key catalysts for the market

On December 30th, Wintermute OTC Trading Director Jake O stated, “It’s hard to imagine the market will experience significant volatility this week. Most institutional trading departments will remain on the sidelines before January 1st, waiting for the New Year to begin. Traders will re-enter the market in a ‘reset’ state and focus on a series of catalysts. The start of 2026 will see: · Announcement of the Federal Reserve Chair candidate (expected) · Supreme Court ruling on tariffs (expected) · The ‘Clarity Act’ bill entering revision/review stage (expected) · Updates to supplementary leverage ratio (SLR) regulatory requirements · Decision on whether to include MSCI crypto-related stock indices (15th) · FOMC interest rate decision meeting (28th) · U.S. government funding expiration deadline (30th) And all of this occurs after the tax-loss selling narrative ends, large-scale options expirations, and the accumulation of bearish positions.”