• Stocks rose in a light trading day Monday.
• Nordstrom is going private.
• President-elect Donald Trump is turning to the tech industry to fill his administration.

Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:

1. Light, but bright

Tech stocks continued to help the markets rise on Monday. The S&P 500 added 0.73% for the day, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.98%. That rise came as Tesla and Meta Platforms added more than 2% and Nvidia rose more than 3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, had a smaller gain, adding just 66.69 points higher, or 0.16%. Trading was light Monday, which is expected to continue today. The market will close at 1 p.m. for the Christmas Eve holiday. Follow live market updates.

2. Family matters

Department store operator Nordstrom is going private. The company agreed to a buyout deal worth roughly $6.25 billion from members of the founding Nordstrom family and the Mexican department store El Puerto de Liverpool. The family will have majority ownership of the private company, with 50.1%, while Liverpool will own 49.9%. Common shareholders, meanwhile, will receive $24.25 in cash for each share of Nordstrom common stock they hold.

3. Making a list

From Silicon Valley to the White House: President-elect Donald Trump is tapping tech executives to join his upcoming administration. Scott Kupor and Sriram Krishnan, high-profile leaders at tech venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, were both recently selected for key roles, following a slew of other nominations. The moves come as Tesla CEO Elon Musk has emerged as a close advisor for Trump after being one of his biggest campaign donors.

4. Cost concerns

The FDA said tirzepatide, the main ingredient in Eli Lilly's weight loss drug Zepbound, is no longer in shortage. That means patients will likely be unable to access compounded — or cheaper, off-brand — versions of the drug that compounding pharmacies were legally allowed to make during the shortage. Six patients told CNBC that they're worried about the price of the brand-name medicine. "I am extremely concerned for what it's going to cost," said Erin Hunt, 31, a communications analyst based in Maryland. "This medication has literally changed my life." Read more about how the FDA's decision will affect patients and compounding pharmacies.

5. Forgoing forgiveness

President Joe Biden's administration has withdrawn two major plans that would have provided student loan forgiveness to millions of Americans. The move comes weeks before Trump is set to take over the White House. The Education Department said it was stepping away from the plans because of "operational challenges in implementing the proposals." They would have given relief to those who had been in repayment for decades and others experiencing financial hardship.

— CNBC's Kristian Burt, Annie Palmer, Annika Kim Constantino and Annie Nova contributed to this report.