Market Recap: December 2023

Market Wrap: Stocks, Bonds, Commodities

On Friday, U.S. stocks began December trading positively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 294 points (+0.82%) to close at 36,245, marking the highest close so far this year. The S&P 500 rose 26 points (+0.59%) to 4,594, also reaching its highest close in 2023, while the Nasdaq 100 increased by 49 points (+0.31%) to reach 15,997.

Every week, all three major indexes extended their gains, marking the fifth consecutive week of growth.

The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield dropped by another 11.6 basis points to 4.210%.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell mentioned that the risk of monetary policy being too tight or too loose is now more balanced. He reiterated the readiness of the central bank to further tighten monetary policy if deemed necessary.

U.S. data showed that the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing purchasing managers index remained unchanged at 46.7 in November, as compared to the expected 47.2.

The sectors that saw the most significant gains on Friday were consumer durables & apparel (+3.14%), transportation (+2.8%), and real estate (+2.06%).

Microsoft (MSFT) experienced a decline of 1.16%, the largest loss among major tech stocks.

MicroStrategy (MSTR) gained 5.90%. The software company announced an additional acquisition of 16,130 bitcoins, increasing its total holdings to 174,530 bitcoins, the highest among publicly listed companies.

Walt Disney (DIS) saw a slight dip of 0.12% after announcing a cash dividend of $0.30 per share, its first cash dividend in four years.

Following quarterly results, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) surged by 10.81%, while Marvell Technology (MRVL) fell by 5.26%, and Dell Technologies (DELL) slid by 5.19%.

European stocks also performed well, with the DAX 40 rising by 1.12%, the CAC 40 adding 0.48%, and the FTSE 100 rising by 1.01%.

U.S. WTI crude oil dropped by $1.71 (-2.25%) to $74.25 per barrel.

The price of gold reached an all-time high of $2,075 per ounce.

Market Wrap: Forex

The U.S. dollar resumed its recent downtrend, with the dollar index pulling back to 103.22.

EUR/USD saw a dip of 7 pips to 1.0881.

USD/JPY fell by 135 pips to 146.85.

GBP/USD rose by 85 pips to 1.2709. In the U.K., the Nationwide housing price index increased by 0.2% every month in November, as compared to the expected +0.4%.

AUD/USD climbed by 70 pips to 0.6675.

USD/CHF declined by 60 pips to 0.8692.

USD/CAD lost 65 pips to 1.3496. Canada's data showed an increase of 24,900 in employment for November, as compared to the expected +20,000. The jobless rate edged up to 5.8%, as expected.

Over the weekend, Bitcoin remained strong, approaching the key level of $40,000.

Morning Trading

In Asian trading hours, Bitcoin surged past the key level of $40,000, reaching $40,882, a level last seen in April 2022.

Gold prices continued to advance, reaching an all-time high of $2,111.

USD/JPY eased further to 146.57.

Meanwhile, EUR/USD remained relatively stable at 1.0882, GBP/USD declined to 1.2682, and AUD/USD held firm at 0.6671.

The U.S. Department of Defense acknowledged reports regarding attacks on an American warship and commercial vessels in the Red Sea on Sunday.

Expected Today

• Germany's trade surplus is expected to widen to 17.1 billion euros in October, with exports rising by 1.1% every month.

• U.S. factory orders may drop by 2.3% every month in October.