Overnight US stocks | "Santa Claus rally" begins! Three major stock indexes rise together, gold and silver hit new highs again, and oil rebounds.

On Monday, the three major indices all rose. Both gold and silver hit historical highs, with platinum also approaching record highs. Stocks in the gold and silver mining industry also rose. Oil prices rose more than 2%. [US Stocks] At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 227.79 points, or 0.47%, to 48,362.68; the Nasdaq rose 121.21 points, or 0.52%, to 23,428.83; the S&P 500 rose 43.99 points, or 0.64%, to 6,878.49. Stocks in the gold and silver mining industry generally rose. Blue Gold (BGL.US) rose 6.78%, Avino Silver & Gold Mines (ASM.US) rose 6.54%, B2Gold (BTG.US) rose 5.73%, First Majestic Silver (AG.US) rose 4.97%, Hecla Mining Company (HL.US) rose 4.47%, AngloGold Ashanti (AU.US) rose 4.41%, Gold Fields Limited Sponsored ADR (GFI.US) rose 4.12%, Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. Sponsored ADR (HMY.US) rose 3.87%, Pan American Silver Corp. (PAAS.US) rose 3.81%, Newmont Mining (NEM.US) rose 3.54%. [European Stocks] The Germany DAX30 index fell 4.43 points, or 0.02%, to 24,283.97; the UK FTSE 100 index fell 31.45 points, or 0.32%, to 9,865.97; the France CAC40 index fell 30.31 points, or 0.37%, to 8,121.07; the European Stoxx 50 index fell 18.39 points, or 0.32%, to 5,741.96; the Spain IBEX35 index fell 11.80 points, or 0.07%, to 17,158.00; the Italy FTSE MIB index fell 163.95 points, or 0.37%, to 44,593.60. [Asia-Pacific Stock Market] The Nikkei 225 index rose 1.81%, the South Korea KOSPI index rose 2.12%, the India BSE SENSEX rose 0.75%, and the Indonesia Composite Index rose 0.42%. [Forex] The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the exchange rate against six major currencies, fell 0.33% to 98.29. [Cryptocurrency] Cryptocurrencies fell slightly. Bitcoin fell 0.31% to $88,348; Ethereum fell 0.36% to $2,990.76. [Precious Metals] COMEX gold futures rose 2.12% to $4,480.45 per ounce. Spot gold rose 2.421% to $4,443.65 per ounce. Spot silver rose 2.83% to $69.065 per ounce, reaching a historical high of $69.4549 earlier in the day. Spot platinum rose 7.74% to $2,129.80 per ounce, approaching the previous high of $2,300 per ounce in 2008. [Crude Oil] WTI February crude oil futures rose 2.63% to $58.01 per barrel. Brent February crude oil futures rose 2.64% to $62.07 per barrel. [Metals] LME copper futures rose $44 to $11,925 per tonne. LME aluminium futures fell $4 to $2,942 per tonne. LME zinc futures rose $12 to $3,085 per tonne. LME lead futures fell $13 to $1,925 per tonne. LME nickel futures rose $473 to $15,276 per tonne. LME tin futures fell $280 to $42,947 per tonne. LME cobalt futures remained unchanged at $52,790 per tonne. [Macro News] Trump "appointed" Director Milan: There is a risk of recession next year if the Fed does not continue to cut interest rates. Federal Reserve Director Milan warned that unless the Fed continues to cut interest rates next year, the US economy will face the risk of a recession. This statement contrasts sharply with the cautious stance taken by several Federal Reserve officials recently, highlighting the deep divisions within the Fed over the path of interest rate policy. Milan said, "If we do not adjust our policy, we will face an increasingly serious risk of economic recession." He emphasized that the unemployment rate has risen beyond expectations, which data should prompt Fed decision-makers to shift towards a more dovish direction. Milan also said that he has not decided whether to support a 25 basis point or 50 basis point rate cut at the next Fed monetary policy committee FOMC meeting in January, but believes that several more rate cuts may be necessary. He also said, "I don't think there will be an economic recession in the short term," but the rising unemployment rate should prompt Fed officials to continue cutting rates. In addition, Milan once again hinted on Monday that he may "overtime" as director next year. He said that if no one is confirmed for appointment by January 31, he expects to continue serving as a Fed director. Asset management giant Apollo initiates "risk-off mode": hoarding cash, deleveraging, and waiting for "bad things to happen"? Apollo is taking a series of aggressive defensive measures, including hoarding cash, reducing leverage, and selling off high-risk debt assets in preparation for possible market turbulence. According to reports, Apollo CEO Marc Rowan stated in a private meeting with investors this month that his top priority is to build the "best possible balance sheet", establish a defensive posture, and ensure that the company remains in a favorable profit position when credit and stock markets face greater challenges and "bad things happen" for the first time in decades as a result of AI, new factories, and a comprehensive electrification of the economy. Rowan warned that current asset prices are too high, long-term interest rates are unlikely to fall significantly, and political risks are increasing for GEO Group Inc. BofA CEO: The stimulus effect of AI on the economy is gradually becoming apparent. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan stated that artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to have a greater impact on the US economy. He pointed out that AI investments are gradually "strengthening" and are providing significant marginal support to the US economy, which will continue to amplify its impact in the coming years. The bank expects the US economy to continue to grow strongly next year, although the job market is slowing down, overall risks are manageable. Moynihan stated that even if there is a temporary downturn in the AI industry, its impact on the macro economy is relatively limited. Trader bets on US bond options, betting that the 10-year yield will fall to 4% within a few weeks. CME Group Inc. Class A released data on open interest contracts on Monday, confirming that traders have been buying a large amount of US bond options in the past week, betting on a future rally in bonds that will push the 10-year US bond yield back to 4%, a level that has not been reached since late November. Even though US bond yields have risen in recent weeks, this bullish bet continues to increase. Earlier this month, the 10-year US bond yield briefly approached a high of around 4.20%, and has since fluctuated, reaching around 4.16% on Monday. Investors are evaluating the latest economic data on one hand, and dissecting statements from Federal Reserve officials on the other hand to seek clues on the magnitude and timing of further rate cuts. [Stock News] Warner (WBD.US) acquisition battle escalates again! Ellison personally backs $40.4 billion, Paramount (PSKY.US) confronts Netflix (NFLX.US) head-on. Oracle Corporation founder Larry Ellison is using his personal wealth to back the acquisition offer from Paramount, led by his son, for Warner Bros., further escalating the fiercely competitive battle between them and Netflix. On Monday, both bidders took action to reinforce the funding behind their respective bids, without directly raising the offer. Netflix is refinancing part of its planned $59 billion debt to ensure long-term maintenance of its investment-grade credit rating. Analysts say this is a key advantage it possesses compared to Paramount, which has a lower credit rating. But what may truly force Warner Bros. to reassess the situation is the personal guarantee provided by Ellison - the fifth richest person globally with a personal wealth of around $246 billion. Paramount officially introduced Ellison's irrevocable personal guarantee in the revised acquisition offer, providing a backstop for $40.4 billion in equity financing and potential indemnification liabilities, in direct response to Warner Bros.' prior questioning of the reliability of the funding. Paramount also proposed to increase its regulatory reverse breakup fee from $50 billion to $58 billion. On Monday, Warner's stock price rose 3.5%, Paramount rose over 4%, and Netflix fell over 1%. Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOGL.US) strengthens data centers again: acquires energy partner Intersect for $4.75 billion. Alphabet Inc. Class C will fully acquire energy supplier Intersect Power LLC for $4.75 billion in cash plus assumed debt. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the first half of next year and aims to provide Alphabet Inc. Class C with more power supply for its data centers to meet the surge in electricity demand for the first time in decades due to AI, new factories, and the comprehensive electrification of the economy, and as the aging US power grid struggles to keep up. A year ago, Alphabet Inc. Class C had already invested in Intersect through financing and established a partnership to build large energy factories next to its data center campuses. Alphabet Inc. Class C said that Intersect will help the company expand production capacity, operate more flexibly when building new power generation capacity in sync with new data center loads, and rethink energy solutions.