By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 333.59 points, a drop of 0.77%, closing at 42,992.21 points; the Nasdaq dropped by 298.33 points, a decrease of 1.49%, closing at 19,722.03 points; the S&P 500 Index fell by 66.75 points, a decline of 1.11%, closing at 5,970.84 points.
According to Zhitong Finance, on Friday, the three major indices collectively closed lower, but all three indices recorded gains this week. The Dow Jones increased by 0.35% over the week, the Nasdaq rose by 0.76%, and the S&P 500 Index gained 0.67%. This week, Tesla (TSLA.US) increased by 2.52%, Meta (META.US) rose by 2.49%, NVIDIA (NVDA.US) gained 1.77%, Google A (GOOGL.US) increased by 0.71% for five consecutive weeks, Apple (AAPL.US) rose by 0.46% for six consecutive weeks, Amazon (AMZN.US) fell by 0.50%, and Microsoft (MSFT.US) dropped by 1.38% for two consecutive weeks.
[US Stocks] At the close, the Dow fell by 333.59 points, down 0.77%, closing at 42992.21 points; the Nasdaq dropped by 298.33 points, down 1.49%, closing at 19722.03 points; the S&P 500 Index declined by 66.75 points, down 1.11%, closing at 5970.84 points. Tesla (TSLA.US) fell by 4.95%, while WiMi Hologram Cloud (WIMI.US) rose over 77%.
[European Stocks] The German DAX30 Index rose by 131.28 points, up 0.66%, closing at 19980.05 points; the UK FTSE100 Index increased by 11.06 points, up 0.14%, closing at 8148.05 points; the France CAC40 Index gained 72.68 points, up 1.00%, closing at 7355.37 points; the Euro Stoxx 50 Index rose by 41.19 points, up 0.85%, closing at 4899.05 points; the Spain IBEX35 Index increased by 58.73 points, up 0.51%, closing at 11532.63 points; the Italian FTSE MIB Index gained 411.10 points, up 1.22%, closing at 34151.00 points.
[Asia-Pacific Stock Market] The Nikkei 225 Index increased by 1.8%, the Indonesia Jakarta Composite Index dropped by 0.41%, and the South Korea KOSPI Index fell by 1.02%.
[Cryptos] Bitcoin fell over 1.4%, trading at 95369.48 USD; Ethereum dropped by 0.4%, trading at 3319.72 USD.
[Gold] Spot gold fell by 0.45%, trading at 2621.80 USD/ounce, remaining roughly flat for the week, rebounding from the December 24 bottom of 2608.25 USD, rising to 2639.22 USD on December 26 before giving back some gains; COMEX Gold Futures dropped by 0.69%, trading at 2635.70 USD/ounce, down 0.35% for the week.
[Crude Oil Product] WTI February crude oil futures closed up $0.98, an increase of nearly 1.41%, at $70.60 per barrel, with a total increase of over 1.64% this week.
[USA Bonds] The yield on the 10-year benchmark Treasury bond in the USA rose by 3.66 basis points, reporting at 4.6192%, approaching the peak of 4.6393% on December 26, the peak of 4.7351% on April 25, and the peak of 5.0267% on July 20, 2007. It has increased a total of 9.70 basis points this week, trading overall in the range of 4.5163%-4.6393%. The yield on the 2-year Treasury bond fell by 0.41 basis points, reporting at 4.3242%, with an overall increase of 1.60 basis points this week, trading within the range of 4.3035%-4.3633%.
[Forex] The ICE USD Index fell by 0.11%, reporting at 108.006 points, with a total increase of 0.17% this week, trading within the overall range of 107.683-108.302 points. The Bloomberg USD Index rose by 0.03%, reporting at 1303.06 points, with an overall increase of 0.48% this week, fluctuating at a high level after rising on Monday, trading in the overall range of 1296.32-1303.95 points. The USD to JPY exchange rate fell by 0.15%, reporting at 157.83 yen, with an overall decline of 0.89% this week, trading within the range of 156.14-158.08 yen.
[Macroeconomic News]
The USA confirmed that the bird flu virus infecting humans has undergone genetic mutations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the USA released a statement on December 26, indicating that Gene Sequencing results show that the bird flu virus infected in humans has mutated. The mutations may lead to the virus being more easily transmitted to the human upper respiratory tract. The CDC stated that researchers conducted viral sequencing on two upper respiratory samples from a severe patient in Louisiana infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus, finding mutations in the hemagglutinin gene fragment in one of the samples. The CDC did not find these mutations in birds around the patient's living environment. One mutation had previously been detected in severe patients in Canada. The CDC believes that this indicates mutations occurred while the bird flu virus replicated in the human body, making it easier to bind with certain cell receptors in the human upper respiratory tract. The statement noted that unlike the B3.13 strain spreading widely in American cattle and poultry, the bird flu virus infecting this patient belongs to the D1.1 strain. According to American media reports, Canadian severe patients also similarly infected with the D1.1 strain.
Institutions: The S&P 500 Index is expected to rise above 7000 points next year. Analysts at investment management firm Payden & Rygel stated that due to interest rate cuts being greater than expected, continuous consumer spending, and strong corporate profits, the stock market is likely to rise further in 2025. They mentioned that this could drive the USA S&P 500 Index above 7000 points, corresponding to an ROI of 15%. They also noted that the bullish factors from cuts in taxes and a relaxed regulatory environment under elected President Donald Trump could provide an additional boost to the stock market.
Trump requests the USA Supreme Court to suspend the enforcement of the TikTok forced sale order. On December 27 local time, it was learned from CCTV reporters that President-elect Trump made a request to the USA Supreme Court to suspend the enforcement of the TikTok forced sale order. Trump stated that he hopes the court will give him time to resolve this dispute politically after his official inauguration on January 20. On December 18 local time, the USA Supreme Court announced that it would revisit the bill to ban TikTok's operation in the USA. Reports indicate that the Supreme Court is set to debate the case on January 10, allowing the court to rule on the issue before the law takes effect on January 19. The bill requires TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to divest TikTok, otherwise TikTok will be banned from operating in the USA. ByteDance has made it clear that it will not sell the TikTok business.
OpenAI outlines a new profit structure to maintain a lead in the costly AI race. OpenAI outlined its restructuring plan on Friday, stating it will create a public-benefit corporation (PBC), making it easier to raise funds and eliminate the current non-profit parent company's restrictions on the startup. According to the proposed structure, the existing profit division of the chat software maker will become a Delaware public-benefit corporation (PBC). The company's structure will take into account not only shareholder value but also social benefits. At the same time, OpenAI stated in a blog post that the non-profit organization would hold "substantial equity" in the PBC as determined by an independent financial advisor, adding that this will be "one of the best-resourced non-profit organizations in history." As the pursuit of artificial general intelligence intensifies, OpenAI has been seeking changes to attract more investments. It hinges on whether the company can change its corporate structure and eliminate profit caps for investors. OpenAI's latest round of financing of $6.6 billion valued the company at $157 billion. "The funding we need again exceeds our imagination. Investors want to support us, but at this scale of capital, what we need is traditional equity, not structured assets," OpenAI stated on Friday.
In recent years, the largest increase in homelessness is projected in the USA, with over 770,000 people homeless in 2024. On December 27, local time, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a report showing that the number of homeless people in the USA has increased by 18.1% year-on-year in 2024, marking the largest increase in recent years. According to statistics collected nationwide, more than 770,000 people are recorded as homeless, including nearly 150,000 children, which represents a year-on-year increase of 33%. The report notes that the lack of affordable housing, natural disasters, and a surge in immigration are the main reasons for the rise in the homeless population. Additionally, natural disasters such as the wildfires in Maui, Hawaii in 2023 have also led to a significant increase in the homeless population.
[Individual Stock News]
Kingsoft Cloud (KC.US) rose over 23%, as it was reported that Xiaomi will heavily invest in AI large models. Kingsoft Cloud increased by 23.24% at the close of US stocks on Friday, ending at $12.57. Media reports indicate that Xiaomi is in the process of building a GPU cluster worth tens of thousands, heavily investing in AI large models. The Xiaomi large model team had already secured 6,500 GPU resources at its establishment. According to Xiaomi's 2023 anniversary speech, the main breakthrough direction for its large model technology is lightweight and local deployment. Institutions generally believe that as Xiaomi plans to deeply integrate AI into its ecosystem, along with the great demand for computing power, Kingsoft Cloud, as its partner, is bound to experience significant growth in Business.
