Preview of US Stock Market | The three major stock index futures fell together, Allianz economist Adrian: The economic performance of the United States in 2025 will be better than its counterparts.

1. Before the opening of the US stock market on Thursday, the futures of the three major US stock indexes all fell. As of the time of writing, Dow Jones futures fell by 0.43%, S&P 500 index futures fell by 0.47%, and Nasdaq futures fell by 0.52%. 2. As of the time of writing, the Germany DAX index fell by 0.18%, the UK FTSE 100 index rose by 0.42%, the France CAC40 index rose by 0.14%, and the Europe Stoxx 50 index fell by 0.19%. 3. As of the time of writing, WTI crude oil rose by 0.53% to $70.47 per barrel. Brent crude oil rose by 0.48% to $73.52 per barrel. Market News Allianz Chief Economist El-Erian: The US economy is expected to outperform peers by 2025, but inflation persists. Allianz's Chief Economic Counselor, Mohamed El-Erian, stated that given the amount of foreign capital the United States is attracting, as well as the scale of investment in future productivity, competitiveness, and growth drive, the United States is likely to continue to outperform other major economies by 2025. One of the consequences of this success is that the Federal Reserve did not cut interest rates as smoothly as the market anticipated a year ago, by 1.75%-2%. This trend is expected to continue: at the December policy meeting, the Federal Reserve indicated that it will reduce the number of interest rate cuts in 2025 and increase the terminal (long-term) rate. However, political turmoil at the national and GEO Group Inc level, limited prospects for significant improvement, do present risks to the persistence of the United States' economic uniqueness. Even if the US economy continues to outperform other countries as expected, the range of results for inflation may widen. Uncertainty in interest rate cuts! Will the Federal Reserve really act based on Trump's face? The Federal Reserve may need to observe the economic policies of President-elect Trump (including import tariffs) to more accurately predict the direction of inflation and interest rate changes in the first half of next year. The Federal Reserve lowered its federal funds rate for the third consecutive time last week, down to 4.5%, and still raised short-term inflation expectations, mentioning a highly uncertain assessment of the economic policy impact from the new government. Given the new economic realities expected, the Federal Reserve also halved its rate cut forecast for 2025, with the market currently expecting the Federal Reserve to cut rates twice in the next 12 months. Russia's counter-sanction strategy: including Bitcoin in the international payment system. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov stated on Wednesday that Russia has amended laws to allow businesses to use Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in international payments to counter Western sanctions. Sanctions have complicated Russia's trade with major partners like Turkey, as local banks are cautious about transactions involving Russia to avoid scrutiny by Western regulatory authorities. This year, Russia has allowed the use of cryptocurrencies in foreign trade and has taken steps to legalize mining of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Russia is one of the leaders in the global Bitcoin mining field. Stock News NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) attracts strong interest from retail investors! Net purchases exceed $30 billion in 2024. Data from Vanda Research shows that retail investors have collectively invested nearly $30 billion in NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) stock this year. As of December 17, it has become the stock with the highest net purchases by retail investors in 2024. The net inflow of funds from retail investors to NVIDIA Corporation is almost twice that of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, which tracks the broad benchmark of the US stock market. It is also expected to surpass Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US), which was the favorite of retail investors in 2023, attracting the most net purchases by retail investors in 2023. Confident in completing the acquisition! Nippon Steel extends the deadline for the acquisition of United States Steel Corporation (X.US). Japan's Nippon Steel announced on Thursday that it has extended the delivery deadline for the $15 billion acquisition of United States Steel Corporation (X.US) and expressed confidence that this acquisition will protect and develop the American company. The expected delivery date has been modified from the third or fourth quarter of 2024 to the first quarter of 2025. On Monday, a foreign investment commission in the United States will submit a decision to approve or block the transaction to President Biden, who has 15 days to make a decision. Both Biden and his predecessor Trump have expressed opposition to the purchase, Nippon Steel said on Thursday. "Nippon Steel hopes that the president will use this time to make a fair and fact-based assessment of the acquisition. We still believe that this acquisition will protect and develop United States Steel Corporation." Time is a scarce resource! Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR (HMC.US) and Nissan's merger may not enhance competitiveness in the short term. Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR and Nissan Motor expect that the merging of the global third-largest automotive group will bring significant benefits, but fierce competition from China raises doubts about their ability to complete the merger in time. The two Japanese automakers announced on Monday that they have agreed to enter formal talks on the merger. While the outcome of the deal is uncertain and partly dependent on Nissan's progress in turning losses into profits, the goal is to complete the transaction by August 2026. Nissan's primary partner Mitsubishi Motors will decide whether to participate before next month. The two automakers aim to achieve synergies of over 1 trillion yen ($64 billion) by leveraging shared platforms, joint research and development, and combined procurement. Their operating profit target exceeds 300 billion yen.One hundred million yen, an increase of 54% compared to the combined performance of last year.MicroStrategy (MSTR.US) Increases Funding for Bitcoin, Digital Asset Prices Rise in Response. The price of Bitcoin saw an increase on Thursday, closely related to a plan announced by MicroStrategy. The company plans to issue more stocks to raise funds to purchase more Bitcoin. This news has stimulated market sentiment and pushed the price of Bitcoin higher, with the price briefly touching a high of $99,876.70 earlier in the day. A broader cryptocurrency index, including Ethereum, Solana, and Dogecoin, also recovered from Wednesday's dip, rising by 0.2%. Toyota (TM.US) Japanese shares set to achieve largest two-day gain since August, rumored to increase ROE to 20%. Toyota Motor Corp. Sponsored ADR stocks listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange have risen for a second consecutive day, potentially achieving their largest two-day gain since August. Earlier reports cited an unnamed executive stating that Toyota plans to double its Return on Equity (ROE) to 20%. Boosted by this news, Toyota's Japanese shares closed up by 4.57% on Wednesday. A Toyota spokesperson stated that the company does not have a specific target or deadline for ROE. Analyst Shinji Kakiuchi from Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities stated in a report that if the reports are accurate, "the company needs to improve the value chain returns to further enhance profitability." The analyst also added, "We will also monitor whether Toyota will raise funds by selling its equity holdings to further increase shareholder returns." Upcoming Economic Data and Events 21:30 Beijing time: Initial Jobless Claims (in thousands) for the week ending December 21 in the United States.