To The Moon

U.S. stock markets closed lower on Monday as traders prepared to wrap up a strong 2025. For Wall Street, 2025 has been a stellar year, with the S&P 500 climbing nearly 18% year-to-date. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has advanced 14.5%, on track for its best annual performance since 2021. The Nasdaq Composite has performed even better, surging more than 22% for the year. At the close, the Dow Jones fell by 249.04 points, or 0.51%, to 48,461.93. The Nasdaq dropped 118.75 points, or 0.50%, to 23,474.35, while the S&P 500 declined 24.20 points, or 0.35%, to 6,905.74. Micron Technology (MU.US) gained 3.4%, reaching a new all-time high. Tesla (TSLA.US) fell 3.2%, and NVIDIA (NVDA.US) declined 1%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index closed down 0.66%, with Alibaba (BABA.US) falling over 2%, while NIO (NIO.US) rose 5%. In Europe, Germany's DAX 30 index added 22.37 points, or 0.09%, to 24,362.43. Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 5.16 points, or 0.05%, to 9,865.52. France's CAC 40 rose 8.44 points, or 0.10%, to 8,112.02. The Euro Stoxx 50 increased by 6.91 points, or 0.12%, to 5,753.15. Spain's IBEX 35 climbed 16.38 points, or 0.10%, to 17,189.28, while Italy's FTSE MIB dropped 164.08 points, or 0.37%, to 44,442.50. Across Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.44%, while South Korea's KOSPI gained 2.2%. India's BSE SENSEX declined 0.41%, and Indonesia's Composite Index rose 1.25%. In foreign exchange markets, the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.35% to settle at 97.942. By the New York market close, one euro traded at $1.1790, up from $1.1755. One pound bought $1.3497, up from $1.3458. One U.S. dollar was worth 156.20 Japanese yen, down from 156.92, and traded at 0.7877 Swiss francs, down from 0.7918. It was also worth 1.3694 Canadian dollars, down from 1.3747, and 9.1684 Swedish kronor, down from 9.2396. Cryptocurrencies saw declines, with Bitcoin falling 0.83% to $87,183.34 and Ethereum dropping 0.58% to $2,933.9. Precious metals experienced significant sell-offs. Spot gold plunged over 4.4% to $4,331.48 per ounce, while spot silver plummeted more than 8% to $72.171. Oil futures rebounded, partially recovering from Friday's losses. The February 2026 WTI crude contract in New York rose $1.34 to settle at $58.08 per barrel, a gain of 2.36%. The February London Brent crude contract increased by $1.30 to close at $61.94 per barrel, up 2.14%. The recovery came as a weekend meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy failed to resolve key issues. Mizuho analyst Robert Yawger noted, "Crude trading is based on expectations that a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire will not be reached in the short term. There is much discussion but no agreement. The conflict's continuation will pressure Russian oil output, sanctions will test its ability to supply international customers, and Ukrainian attacks on refineries challenge Russia's ability to operate them at high utilization." Analysts suggested that gold's retreat from record highs was amplified by thin year-end liquidity. After hitting a record high over the weekend, spot gold fell sharply on Monday, nearing $4,300 per ounce. Profit-taking in thin holiday trading is magnifying the correction following months of strong gains, while a modest dollar rebound adds pressure. However, some analysts believe the broader macroeconomic backdrop remains supportive, with markets still expecting Fed easing next year. U.S. political developments, particularly concerns over central bank independence, also sustain an uncertain environment favoring safe-haven assets. U.S. pending home sales surged in November to their highest level in nearly three years. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported an unexpected jump, with sales rising 3.3% month-over-month, following an upwardly revised 2.4% gain in October. Economists had forecast only a 1.0% increase. Year-over-year, pending sales grew 2.6%, reaching the highest level since February 2023. A key measure of U.S. bond market volatility is heading for its largest annual decline since the global financial crisis, as Fed rate cuts have effectively mitigated recession risks. As of last Friday, the ICE BofA MOVE Index, reflecting bond market volatility expectations, had fallen to around 59, its lowest since October 2024. Having fallen steadily from around 99 at the end of 2024, the index is on track for one of its most significant annual drops since records began in 1988, second only to the plunge in 2009. NVIDIA (NVDA.US) disclosed it has purchased $5 billion worth of Intel (INTC.O) stock, finalizing a deal announced in September. The leading AI chip designer had agreed to buy Intel common shares at $23.28 per share. The investment provides crucial financial support for Intel after years of missteps and capital-intensive expansion drained its resources. According to Monday's filing, the world's most valuable company purchased over 214.7 million Intel shares privately at the agreed price. The U.S. FTC announced earlier this month that antitrust regulators had approved NVIDIA's investment in Intel. Lululemon Athletica (LULU.US) founder Chip Wilson is pushing for a board shake-up before the company selects a new CEO. Wilson, one of Lululemon's largest shareholders, has nominated three director candidates for the 2026 annual meeting: former On Holding co-CEO Marc Maurer, former ESPN CMO Laura Gentile, and former Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg. Wilson stated, "The recent CEO transition announcement marks the third complete failure of board oversight, with no clear succession plan yet in place. Shareholders have no confidence that the current board can select and support the next CEO without the involvement of board members with deeper product expertise." SoftBank Group has agreed to acquire private equity firm DigitalBridge Group (DBRG.US) in a deal valuing the data center investor at $4 billion, including debt. The Japanese conglomerate will pay $16 per share in cash for the New York-listed company. The acquisition is part of SoftBank's push to invest in digital infrastructure fueling the AI boom. The offer represents a 15% premium to DigitalBridge's closing price on December 26. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, pending regulatory approvals. Wells Fargo reiterated its Overweight rating on Apple (AAPL.US) with a $300 price target, citing a surge in non-Chinese brand smartphone sales in China. Data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology showed implied shipments for non-Chinese brand smartphones surged 128% year-over-year in November to approximately 6.93 million units, gaining market share, while shipments of local Chinese brands fell 13%. Apple's stock has recently traded around $273. Wells Fargo indicated the data suggests positive momentum for iPhone market growth. Separately, Jefferies raised its Apple price target to $283.36, maintaining a Hold rating, while Morgan Stanley lifted its target to $315, reiterating an Overweight rating.