In a surprising twist, the U.Sconsumer confidence index reported a decline in December, marking the first drop in three monthsThe Conference Board's measure came in at 104.7, significantly below expectations of 113, and down from November's figure of 111.7. This decline brings the index back to the middle of its range where it has fluctuated over the past two years, raising concerns about American consumers' economic outlook.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, new home sales in the U.Sshowed a recovery in November, growing by 5.9%, although this was also below the projected 9.8%. This rebound indicates a shift from the previous month's staggering decline of 17.3%. The uptick is largely attributed to builders and buyers finishing transactions that had been delayed due to the impact of recent hurricanes in the southern statesAdditionally, consumers took advantage of robust sales incentives offered by builders.

Federal Reserve official Mary Daly voiced her opinions on monetary policy, noting that the Fed anticipates inflation rates for the coming year will remain above target levels

However, she advocated for a 25-basis-point interest rate cut this month, emphasizing that such a decision would prevent overly hawkish stances and mitigate the risk of a severe economic slowdown.

The dollar index continued its ascent on Monday, posting an intraday high of 108.0940, reflecting an increase of 0.44%. The dollar has been facing relentless pressure from short-sellers, but most forex strategists foresee continued strength in the dollar, bolstered by robust U.Seconomic growth and rising treasury yields.

In terms of commodities, the inflation slowdown, coupled with the Fed's dovish rate cut, has led to persistent safe-haven demand for goldOn Monday, spot gold opened low but saw a rally that brought it back to nearly $2630 per ounce before retreating slightly, now trading at $2617.88, marking a decrease of 0.34%. Silver also fluctuated, triggering a rebound to trade at $29.694 per ounce after showing weakness earlier.

Oil prices are expected to remain under pressure amid geopolitical stability and weak fundamentals

• A Song of Ice and Fire of the CNS
• RBA Rate Cut Expectations Build
• Institutional Investors Steadily Holding Bitcoin ETFs
• A-Shares Eye Rebound as 3x Leveraged China ETF Gains 5%
• News from Europe: a staggering €59.2 billion

The short-term supply outlook is improving, but demand growth expectations have been scaled back, leading to a decline on the futures marketOn Monday, Brent crude futures dropped 1.19% to $72.07 per barrel, while U.Scrude fell 1.15% to $68.66 per barrelNotably, India reported a 2.6% increase in crude oil imports for November.

In the cryptocurrency sphere, volatility increased following hawkish statements from Fed Chair Jerome PowellBitcoin experienced fluctuations, dropping to below $94,000 and reflecting a decrease of 2.45% to trade at $93,330, with intraday actions varying from $92,886 to $96,389.

In the U.Sequity markets, the three major indices displayed mixed performances upon openingThe Dow Jones struggled after initially dipping but later managed to recover slightlyMeanwhile, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 showed early gains before retreating, only to rebound into positive territory later

As of this report, the Dow fell by 0.24%, while the Nasdaq rose by 0.59%, and the S&P 500 was up by 0.25%.

Sector movements revealed a significant surge in fiber optics, which saw gains exceeding 16%. The lidar sector also bounced back with over 10% appreciation, while solid-state battery companies grew by more than 5%. In contrast, renewable energy stocks faced declines, dropping over 5%, and the cryptocurrency and 3D printing sectors fell by more than 4%.

Among notable U.Sstocks, Nvidia surged by 2.58%, followed closely by Tesla at 2.14%. Apple saw slight unchanged movement at 0.01%, while Broadcom climbed 4.65%. Microsoft experienced a 0.64% dip, Amazon edged up 0.56%, and Meta rose by 2.31%. Qualcomm and Intel both witnessed gains of approximately 2.55% and 2.46%, respectively, though Coca-Cola dipped by 1.53% and Walmart fell by 2.73%.

In recent announcements:

Loop Capital maintained a "buy" rating for Microsoft on December 23, with a target price of $550.00.

Morgan Stanley reiterated its "buy" rating for Nvidia, indicating an optimistic view surrounding the company's anticipated success with its next-generation AI chips, specifically the Blackwell line

The target price set by the firm stands at $166 per share, suggesting a potential upside of about 23% from the current levels.

The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index experienced slight declines upon opening but swiftly rebounded, showing a modest increase of 0.37% at the report’s conclusion, while the FTSE China 3x Long ETF saw a gain of 0.21%.

In the realm of Chinese stocks, Alibaba advanced by 2.72%, whereas NIO slid by 0.66%. Pinduoduo inched up by 0.38%, while Li Auto rose by 2.05%. JD.com increased by 1.29%, New Oriental went up by 2.14%, and iQiyi added 1.22%. Other notable movements included Xpeng with a minimal gain of 0.02%, BeiGene with a rise of 0.50%, and various other Chinese stocks facing slight fluctuations in either direction.

Market evaluations indicated that most European stocks ended the day lower.

The German DAX 30 index fell by 0.29%, the French index declined by 0.17%, and the Italian index dropped by 0.23%. Conversely, the British index showed a slight uptick of 0.03%, while the broader European STOXX 600 index saw a marginal decline of 0.03%.

Data revealed that the iShares JPMorgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMB) experienced $614 million in outflows last week, the largest single-week drop since March.

Despite the Federal Reserve's announcement of a rate cut during the December 17-18 FOMC monetary policy meeting, the economic projections indicated a cautious stance regarding future rate cuts.