BEIJING, CHINA – DECEMBER 22: A woman walks past the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) headquarters on December 22, 2025 in Beijing, China.
Zhang Xiangyi | Chinese Press Service | Getty Images
Hello, this is Justina Lee writing to you from Singapore. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open.
Beijing has decided to close a record 670 of its banks with the aim of consolidating its financial system, amid ongoing concerns about an economic slowdown in the country.
Oil traders are worried about supply disruptions after Saudi Aramco’s CEO said it could take two years to replenish global oil stocks as the war between Iran and the United States drags on.
In tech, former Google DeepMind researcher Alex Turner’s warning that ‘misaligned’ artificial intelligence could prove more dangerous as China’s aggressive development push has also exacerbated growing fears about AI development.
What you need to know today
China’s decision to close a quarter of its banks is part of an effort to create fewer, larger and better capitalized institutions, according to analysis by Fitch Ratings.
Small commercial and rural banks “remain the weakest part of the system” in China, said Fitch, which highlighted their “poor asset quality, weak capitalization and governance gaps”, particularly in the country’s less developed regions.
Turning to oil markets, concerns over supply disruptions continue to persist after Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Amin Nasser said on Monday that global oil stocks could take two years to replenish. Pressure on supplies could worsen further as the Iran-US conflict drags on, Nasser warned.
Meanwhile, investors ignored rising U.S. Treasury yields and focused on technology stocks, which boosted the rise in U.S. Treasury yields. Nasdaq Composite to a new absolute record.
In the technological field, concerns about the development of artificial intelligence persist. Alex Turner, a former Google DeepMind researcher, warned at a New York City Council meeting Monday that “misaligned” AI could prove more dangerous than China’s aggressive development push.
“Misaligned AI is everyone’s adversary, including our own, and it could one day become more powerful than China,” Turner said.
Meanwhile, technology continues to redefine jobs on Wall Street. According to an analysis from corporate recruiting data firm Draup that was provided exclusively to CNBC, AI-related positions at banks including JPMorgan Chase have increased 49% so far this year, compared to 2025.
In the markets, U.S. stock futures were little changed, with S&P 500 futures up 0.08%, while Dow futures gained 57 points, or 0.1%. Nasdaq-100 futures added 0.09%. In Asia, markets in mainland China and South Korea are closed for public holidays on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 2.4% on Monday, while Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 finished flat.
—Justina Lee
And finally…
Trump says he will pay for government-funded TV ads praising him
President Donald Trump said Monday night that he and his political action committee would pay for controversial television ads praising him and that they had been funded to the tune of $20 million by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Trump’s announcement follows continued backlash against ads released in the weeks leading up to the November midterm elections.
These elections will determine whether Trump’s Republicans retain their majority in both houses of Congress.
“The radical left is upset that I am taking ads, which I view as positive promotion for our great United States, and paying for them with American money,” Trump said in an article on Truth Social.
— Dan Mangan
Gn bussni
