With the shortened work week and many market participants vacationing, look for low trading volumes for this week’s four trading days.

The Asia region will be full of holidays this week with Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand closed on Monday and Tuesday; Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia will also be shut down on Monday.

South Korea and the Philippines have market holidays on Friday but there’s a few numbers coming from Asia this week.

In Japan, earnings season is about to kick off. Two retailers will announce earnings this week: Takashimaya Co. (TKSHF) on Monday and J. Front Retailing Co. on Tuesday. On Thursday, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will report November retail sales.

Over in China, the final results for HSBC’s Purchasing Managers’ Index survey will be released on Friday.

Back in the U.S., the stock market will try to extend the Santa Claus rally. Retail monsters such as Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Target (NYSE:TGT) will be in focus as speculators place bets around initial holiday sales data.

According to PNC Financial Services group strategist William Stone, the five trading days prior to  Jan. 1 and the two trading days following it have seen abnormally high returns for investors, with positive returns coming in 31 of the last 41 holiday seasons.

Economic Numbers

Monday: Markets are closed.

Tuesday: S&P/Case-Shiller index on home prices for October and December consumer confidence.

Thursday: Initial claims for unemployment benefits.

Earnings 

Nothing scheduled this week from the S&P 500 companies:

Tuesday: Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM).

Wednesday: Piedmont Natural Gas Company (NYSE:PNY).

Thursday: Bridgeline Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLIN), Diamond Foods (NASDAQ:DMND), Dynasil Corporation of America (NASDAQ:DYSL), and Imperial Sugar (NASDAQ:IPSU).

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