The morning market overview, compiled by Dow Jones Newswires:
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+++++ DAILY THEME +++++
US President Trump expressed confidence after his conversation with Ukraine’s President Zelensky. But there was no agreement. Before the conversation, Trump spoke on the phone with Russian President Putin. Trump and Zelenskyi spoke of “great progress” being made. “We are getting much closer (to an agreement), maybe even very close,” Trump said at a joint press conference on Sunday. The coming weeks would show whether a solution to end the war in Ukraine could be reached. There are still one or two difficult questions. For his part, Zelensky said he had a great discussion with Trump.
+++++ OUTLOOK FOR THE COMPANY +++++
No important dates announced
+++++ ECONOMIC OUTLOOK +++++
No dates announced.
+++++ OVERVIEW INDICES +++++
last +/- %
E-Mini Future S&P 500 6,796.54 +0.3%
E-Mini Future Nasdaq-100 25,822.75 -0.2%
S&P/ASX 200 (Sydney) 8,725.70 -0.4%
Nikkei-225 (Tokyo) 50,447.68 -0.6%
Hang-Seng (Hongk.) 25,711.65 -0.4%
Shanghai Comp. 3,961.10 -0.1%
Kospi (Seoul) 4,220.56 +2.2%
+++++ FINANCIAL MARKETS +++++
EAST ASIA (HISTORY)
Inconsistent – the clear winner of the day is the Seoul stock exchange. There the Kospi makes a strong jump upwards, driven by price gains in chip stocks. The index heavyweight Samsung Electronics rose in price by 2.3 percent, while SK Hynix rose by over 5 percent. Both stocks are at record highs. The fact that SK Hynix shares were removed from an investment warning list by the stock exchange regulator is providing a boost. Previously, an investment warning applied to stocks that had risen by more than 200 percent within a year. Little is happening in the other places, after little was done in retail over the holidays. In some places such as Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai there was also full or partial trading over the Christmas holidays. The main topics in the low-news period between the years are the expectation of falling US interest rates and the opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence (AI) for companies. Market participants are reporting thin sales, especially since many players have probably already closed their books for the year that is coming to an end.
WALL STREET
Friday, December 26th
INDEX last +/- % absolute +/- % YTD
DJIA 48,710.97 -0.0% -20.19 +14.5%
S&P 500 6,929.94 -0.0% -2.11 +17.8%
NASDAQ Comp 23,593.10 -0.1% -20.21 +22.2%
NASDAQ 100 25,644.39 -0.0% -11.76 +22.0%
Wednesday, December 24th
INDEX last +/- % absolute +/- % YTD
DJIA 48,731.16 +0.6% 288.75 +14.5%
S&P 500 6,932.05 +0.3% 22.26 +17.9%
NASDAQ Comp 23,613.31 +0.2% 51.46 +22.3%
NASDAQ 100 25,656.15 +0.3% 68.32 +22.1%
Tuesday, December 23rd
INDEX last +/- % absolute +/- % YTD
DJIA 48,442.41 +0.2% 79.73 +13.86%
S&P 500 6,909.79 +0.5% 31.30 +17.48%
NASDAQ Comp 23,561.84 +0.6% 133.02 +22.01%
12/24 and December 26th: A little firmer – While the US stock exchanges went up a little further on Wednesday as a result of the Christmas rally, there was almost nothing happening in the indices on Friday.
December 23rd: Friendly – The year-end rally on Wall Street entered its fourth round with teething problems, also because shares in the field of artificial intelligence were doing well again. The S&P 500 index closed at a record high. Market participants continue to bet that the US Federal Reserve will lower the key interest rate next year. The GDP for the third quarter, which was significantly better than expected, did not detract from this, especially since a sentiment index for US consumers was also disappointing. Eli Lilly lost 0.5 percent. The pharmaceutical company is receiving increased competitive pressure from Novo Nordisk. The Danish competitor received US approval for its weight loss drug Wegovy in tablet form. Huntington Ingalls Industries rose another 0.3 percent after hitting an all-time high the previous day in response to US President Trump’s announcement of the construction of new giant warships.
USA – BONDS
12/24 and December 26th: The continued interest rate cut fantasy resulted in slightly falling returns. In the ten-year period it was most recently at 4.14 percent.
Dec. 23: Bond market yields initially rose after US GDP data showed stronger-than-expected growth in the third quarter. At the closing bell, the yield on ten-year US government bonds remained unchanged at 4.17 percent.
+++++ FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKET +++++
last +/- % 00:00 Tue, 13:22 % YTD
EUR/USD 1.1763 -0.1 1.1771 1.1800 +13.7%
EUR/JPY 183.89 -0.2 184.28 183.95 +13.1%
EUR/GBP 0.8718 -0.1 0.8724 0.8734 +5.4%
GBP/USD 1.3492 -0.0 1.3494 1.3510 +7.8%
USD/JPY 156.29 -0.1 156.50 155.94 -0.4%
USD/KRW 1,431.90 -1.1 1,447.39 1,480.61 -1.9%
USD/CNY 7.0357 -0.1 7.0431 7.0472 -2.3%
USD/CNH 7.0042 -0.0 7.0046 7.0164 -4.5%
USD/HKD 7.7740 0.0 7.7714 7.7784 +0.0%
AUD/USD 0.6712 0.1 0.6709 0.6694 +8.5%
NZD/USD 0.5817 -0.2 0.5829 0.5841 +4.3%
BTC/USD 89,823.15 2.3 87,841.15 87,621.25 -7.5%
YTD based on the closing price of the previous day
12/24 and 26.12. : After the setback on Tuesday, the dollar trended sideways on the following trading days – with a slightly positive undertone. At the close of trading on Friday, the euro was at $1.1772, compared to 1.1790 on Tuesday.
December 23rd: The dollar temporarily recovered from the day’s lows due to the unexpectedly strong US GDP, but at the end of the day the euro was still higher at $1.1790. The yen also gained ground against the dollar, supported by a verbal intervention from the Japanese finance minister.
+++++ RAW MATERIALS +++++
METALS
last day previous +/- % +/- USD % YTD
Gold 4,490.18 4,533.62 -1.0% -43.44 +72.8%
Silver 77.20 78.996 -2.3% -1.80 +173.6%
Platinum 1,966.84 2,081.96 -5.5% -115.12 +137.7%
Copper 5.74 5.78 -0.7% -0.04 +39.6%
YTD based on the closing price of the previous day
12/24 and December 26th: After a breather on Wednesday, the rally in precious metals continued dynamically on Friday. Gold rose in price by 1.2 percent to a new record high of $4,533, and silver even rose by around 10 percent. Here the new record high is already over 80 dollars, after the 70 mark was overcome for the first time just a few days ago. For silver, recent reports about possible export restrictions by China from the start of 2026 provided a boost, according to traders.
December 23rd: Gold and silver were still on the hunt for records. The troy ounce of gold rose in price by a further 1.2 percent. In an environment of falling interest rates and a depreciating dollar, demand for the precious metal is increasing, Pepperstone said. The price of copper also reached record levels – fueled by an extensive build-up of inventories in the USA due to tariff fears.
OIL
most recently VT close +/- % +/- USD % YTD
WTI/Nymex 57.37 56.74 +1.1% +0.63 -20.9%
Brent/ICE 61.31 60.64 +1.1% +0.67 -19.4%
YTD based on the closing price of the previous day
In the Asian-dominated business on Monday, oil prices are going up after the peace talks for Ukraine failed to bring any tangible progress, meaning that sanctions against the Russian oil industry are likely to remain in place.
12/24 and December 26th: After a lack of activity on Wednesday, oil prices fell sharply by around 2 percent on Friday. The background was that at the weekend President Trump wanted to talk to Ukrainian President Zelenskyi about a possible peace between Russia and Ukraine. “There is hope for a possible ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine starting in the new year,” said Phil Flynn of Price Futures Group.
December 23rd: Oil prices rose by around 0.6 percent. The US seizure of oil tankers with ties to Venezuela and US President Donald Trump’s threats to enforce a blockade on sanctioned oil deliveries have brought the risks to energy security back into the market’s consciousness, said Pepperstone analyst Ahmad Assiri, explaining the previous day’s rally. In addition, the cheaper dollar caused prices to rise.
+++++ REPORTS SINCE TUESDAY, 8 p.m. +++++
JAPAN – monetary policy
Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda sees the central bank moving closer to the 2 percent target and has reiterated his stance on seeking further interest rate hikes. The central bank raised its key interest rate last week by 0.25 percentage points to 0.75 percent, the highest level in 30 years. She had announced further increases if prices and wages rose as predicted.
JAPAN – economic situation
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
December 29, 2025 01:47 ET (06:47 GMT)