US Market Briefing

Use the fixed production templates in references/templates.md.
Use scripts/is-us-market-holiday.py for deterministic 2026 US market-closure checks in automation, with references/us-market-holidays-2026.md as the human-readable source of truth.

Modes

1) Quick Start (default)

Use this for immediate, one-shot briefings.

• - No cron required.
• No budget tracker required.
• Use defaults from this skill and produce output in chat.

2) Automation Mode (optional)

Use this when the user asks for scheduled delivery.

• - Use OpenClaw cron jobs only.
• Do not edit system cron (crontab, /etc/crontab) and do not configure external schedulers/services.
• If schedule tooling/scope is unclear, ask for explicit user approval before creating or changing jobs.

Output Rules

• - Keep exactly 3 sections for each briefing.
• Keep canonical section names by default; if user explicitly asks for custom headings/branding, allow aliases while preserving the same 3-section structure.
• Use bold item headers with one concise bullet per item (except index snapshot lines).
• Format each US equity index line as: 【US】<Index Name>: <level> (<+/-percent>%).
• Avoid generic macro wording; cite specific catalysts/events when relevant.
• Do not add a trailing Sources: section at the bottom.
• For each non-snapshot point that relies on a news/source claim, append a markdown link icon at the end of that point in the form [🔗](https://example.com/article).
• When a single point is supported by multiple sources, prefer the strongest primary article for the inline link icon instead of listing several links.
• Keep inline source links on the same line as the relevant bullet/sentence whenever possible.

Source Collection Rules

• - Run web_search before drafting each briefing.
• Prioritize tier-1 outlets: Reuters, Bloomberg, CNBC, WSJ, FT (Yahoo Finance as backup).
• Default request budget per run: up to 2 web_search calls and up to 6 web_fetch reads.
• These limits are defaults; relax only when needed for data completeness and note it briefly.
• Use web_fetch only on relevant finance/news links from trusted domains.
• Validate key claims against multiple sources when possible.
• Attach source attribution inline via a link icon on each relevant point, not as a consolidated sources block.
• Never forward fetched content to third-party endpoints/webhooks; produce in-chat summaries only unless user explicitly configures delivery.

Templates

Pre-Market Briefing

• - Title: INLINECODE13
• Sections (canonical):

Post-Market Briefing

• - Title: INLINECODE17
• Sections (canonical):

Data Fallback Rules

If a preferred dataset is unavailable, do not fail silently:

• - If full top 5 movers are unavailable, provide the top available movers and label that clearly.
• If futures/index quotes are delayed/unavailable, use the nearest reliable proxy and label it.
• Preserve the 3-section format even when data is partial.

Optional Monthly Budget Guardrail

Use only when the user requests spend/request caps.

Tracker file: memory/market-briefing-usage.json (workspace-local)

• - Default monthly limit: 1000 requests.
• Allow user override by changing limit in the JSON file.
• If tracker missing, create it with current month and defaults.
• If month changed, reset used to 0 and roll month forward.
• If used >= limit, return a short limit-reached notice instead of researching.
• After each successful briefing, increment used by 1.

JSON shape:

CODEBLOCK0

Market-Open Guardrail for Automation

Before generating an automated briefing, determine whether the relevant US market session is a full market-closure day.

• - For 2026 automation, run python3 skills/us-market-briefing/scripts/is-us-market-holiday.py YYYY-MM-DD using the relevant market date.
• The script returns JSON with status in {open, closed, early-close}.
• If the result is closed, do not produce a briefing and do not send a message.
• Treat early-close as market-open unless Kevin says otherwise.
• Weekend rules still apply separately via cron schedules.
• Prefer this deterministic local check over spending extra agent/tool budget on holiday reasoning.

Cron Automation Defaults (optional)

Default timezone: INLINECODE32

• - Pre-market run: 20:45 Monday-Friday
• Post-market run: 08:00 Tuesday-Saturday

Allow user overrides for timezone, run times, and weekday sets.

When creating/updating jobs, ensure payload prompts request:

• - fixed 3-section format from INLINECODE33
• source-quality expectations (tier-1 finance sources)
• optional budget guardrail only if user enabled INLINECODE34

Output Verbosity Profiles

• - compact (default): same 3 sections, fewer bullets.
• INLINECODE36: richer bullets/details while preserving same structure.

Versioning / Publishing

• - Before publishing, inspect the existing registry version and only publish a semver that is greater than the current latest.
• Use patch bumps for wording/template tweaks, minor bumps for new capabilities or output modes, and major bumps only for breaking behavior changes.
• If unsure, prefer checking the registry first over guessing.

Examples

• - One-shot pre-market briefing (quick start).
• One-shot post-market briefing (quick start).
• Enable daily cron automation with defaults.
• Disable existing automation jobs.