10 THINGS BEFORE THE OPENING BELL

An Apple store.

Welcome to 10 Things Before the Opening Bell.

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1. Apple makes history. The tech giant became the first-ever US company to hit a $3 trillion market capitalization. In Monday trading, Apple surpassed the $182.85-per-share threshold, pushing the global tech giant past the milestone.

Apple achieved the huge valuation despite recent headwinds including staff walkouts on Christmas Eve, concerns over its business operations in China, and having to fend off employee poaching attempts by Meta and other tech rivals.

But $3 trillion could be just a taste of what's to come. According to Dan Ives of Wedbush, Apple's stock price could soar 27% to $225 in a bull-case scenario. In a note, he laid out his case for why Apple's services business alone is worth $1.5 trillion, and how he expects a summer 2022 launch of a new AR headset to bolster Apple's stock price.

Consumer demand for Apple's iPhone should remain strong, Ives said, and Apple's subscription business should continue to grow, too. In a similarly bullish but somewhat less certain development, Ives also believes that an Apple car in the works behind closed doors could provide a big revenue boost by 2025.

2. Stocks are keeping the party going after kicking off 2022 with record highs. New Year optimism rules as investors take heart from signs of US recovery and fading fears around Omicron. Here are the latest moves on the market.

3. The top strategists at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and more shared their market predictions for 2022. Ten Wall Street firms gave their investing recommendations and expectations for the S&P 500 — here's how they think you should invest your money.

4. Earnings on deck: Herman Miller, Lindsay, and Pure Cycle, all reporting.

5. Tesla shares soared after the company beat delivery estimates. The electric car company smashed expectations with 308,600 deliveries in the fourth quarter. Wedbush called Tesla's numbers "jaw dropping."

6. "Big Short" investor Michael Burry paved the way for the GameStop frenzy when he bought a stake in 2019. His big bet helped lay the groundwork, and he unknowingly lit the spark that ultimately led to an unprecedented year of short-squeezes and meme stocks. Here's the full story.

7. Samsung is integrating an NFT marketplace into its smart TVs. The South Korean tech conglomerate is allowing its customers to buy and sell NFTs as a way to elevate user experience. The move will make digital art more accessible through its new lineup of devices.

8. Wharton professor Jeremy Siegel said bitcoin has stood out as an inflation hedge among young people. "Digital coins are the new gold for millennials," he told CNBC. Some agree with Siegel but others do not — here's what experts are saying.

9. A Wall Street veteran trader-turned crypto expert explained his huge expectations for bitcoin and ethereum. Securitize Capital's Wilfred Daye said bitcoin could potentially reach $80,000 and ethereum could hit $7,500. He shared the six major trends on his radar in the year ahead.

10. Wall Street's biggest banks shared which stocks they're most bullish on for 2022. Financials and energy are among the sectors the experts say to target. Here are four other sectors they expect to generate strong returns.

Compiled by Phil Rosen. Feedback? Email prosen@insider.com or tweet @philrosenn.

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