Overnight US stocks | "The Santa Claus rally arrives as scheduled, with the S&P 500 index hitting a new all-time high."

On Wednesday, the three major indexes closed higher. During the trading session, the S&P 500 index rose to a high of 6937.32 points, reaching an intraday historical high. The New York Stock Exchange closed early at 1 p.m. on Wednesday (Christmas Eve) Eastern time and will be closed on Thursday (Christmas Day). Trading will resume on Friday. [US Stocks] At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 288.75 points, or 0.60%, to 48731.16 points; the Nasdaq rose 51.46 points, or 0.22%, to 23613.31 points; and the S&P 500 index rose 22.26 points, or 0.32%, to 6932.05 points. Micron Technology, Inc. (MU.US) rose 3.77%, Oracle Corporation (ORCL.US) rose 1.1%, and NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) fell slightly by 0.32%. [European Stocks] The UK's FTSE 100 index fell slightly by 0.19%; the French CAC 40 index and the Euro Stoxx 50 index closed nearly flat. [Asia-Pacific Stock Market] The Nikkei 225 index fell by 0.14%, the South Korean KOSPI index fell by 0.21%, the Indian BSE SENSEX fell by 0.14%, and the Indonesian Composite Index fell by 0.55%. [Foreign Exchange] The US Dollar Index, which measures the dollar against six major currencies, fell nearly 0.0% on the day, closing at 97.941 in the forex market. At the New York forex market close, 1 euro exchanged for 1.1775 US dollars, lower than the previous trading day's 1.1790 US dollars; 1 pound exchanged for 1.3496 US dollars, lower than the previous trading day's 1.3497 US dollars. 1 US dollar exchanged for 156.02 Japanese yen, lower than the previous trading day's 156.20 Japanese yen; 1 US dollar exchanged for 0.7886 Swiss francs, higher than the previous trading day's 0.7877 Swiss francs; 1 US dollar exchanged for 1.3676 Canadian dollars, lower than the previous trading day's 1.3694 Canadian dollars; 1 US dollar exchanged for 9.1713 Swedish krona, higher than the previous trading day's 9.1684 Swedish krona. [Cryptocurrency] Bitcoin rose by 0.39%, trading at $87825.21; Ethereum fell by 0.44%, trading at $2951.93. [Precious Metals] Spot gold fell slightly by 0.1%, trading at $4480.77, hitting a low of below $4448.53 during the session. [Crude Oil] Light crude oil futures for February 2026 delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by 3 cents to close at $58.35 per barrel, a decrease of 0.05%; Brent crude oil futures for February delivery in London fell by 14 cents to close at $62.24 per barrel, a decrease of 0.22%. [Macro News] Initial jobless claims unexpectedly drop, December unemployment rate expected to remain high. Last week, initial jobless claims in the US unexpectedly decreased, but due to poor employment, the unemployment rate in December may remain high. The US Department of Labor announced on Wednesday that the seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims for the week ending December 20 decreased by 10,000 to 214,000. Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected initial jobless claims to be 224,000. Recent data has been fluctuating due to holiday season adjustments. The labor market is still in what economists and policy makers call a "no hiring, no firing" mode. Despite the resilience of the US economy, the labor market is almost at a standstill. In the week ending December 13, continuing jobless claims increased by 38,000 to 1.923 million after seasonal adjustment. This increase is consistent with a survey released by the World Business Federation on Tuesday, which showed that consumer perceptions of the labor market deteriorated to levels not seen since early 2021. The unemployment rate in November rose to a four-year high of 4.6%, partly due to technical factors related to the government shutdown. Barclays raises US fourth-quarter GDP growth forecast. Barclays economists stated in a research report that the Federal Reserve is likely to view the unexpected acceleration of third-quarter US GDP as a signal that potential demand remains strong. Although the volatility of items such as net exports may exaggerate overall growth, the sustained expansion of consumer spending still shows underlying resilience. Economists point out that although the economic performance in the first half of 2025 has been mixed, total demand has shown significant momentum by the end of the year. Based on this, Barclays has slightly raised its forecast for fourth-quarter GDP growth rate year-on-year by about 0.3 percentage points to 2.0%. US mortgage rates drop for the second consecutive week, 30-year rates fall to 6.18%. US mortgage rates have modestly declined for the second consecutive week. On Wednesday, Fannie Mae stated that the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.18%, lower than the previous week's 6.21%. Rates have been declining since September, but the response from homebuyers remains sluggish. Meanwhile, sellers are pulling listings off the market, waiting for a rebound. The crucial spring selling season will kick off in the coming months, and real estate agents are hopeful that buyers will return to the market as the weather warms up. According to data from Redfin, there were approximately 1.43 million active buyers in the market last month, the lowest level the brokerage has seen since April 2020 when the US was in lockdown due to the pandemic. In November, there were about 37% more sellers than buyers, more than double the gap compared to last year. Redfin's Chief Economist, Asad Khan, stated, "Moderate improvements in housing affordability may attract some buyers to the market in 2026. However, in the foreseeable future, the housing market may still remain in a buyer's market range, and sellers may need to attract buyers through price reductions or incentives." BlackRock, Inc.: Limited rate cuts expected by Federal Reserve in 2026. In a report, BlackRock, Inc. strategists Amanda Lynam and Dominique Bly stated that the Federal Reserve is expected to implement only limited rate cuts in 2026. With a cumulative rate cut of 175 basis points in this cycle, the Fed is approaching the neutral interest rate level. Unless there is a sharp deterioration in the labor market, the space for further rate cuts in 2026 is quite limited. According to LSEG data, the market currently expects the Fed to cut interest rates twice in 2026. EU cryptocurrency tax reporting to start in January, non-compliance may face asset seizure risk. The latest EU regulation on digital asset taxation transparency, known as DAC8, will officially take effect on January 1, 2026, marking a significant shift in how cryptocurrency activities are regulated across the EU. Based on the EU's long-standing tax administrative cooperation framework, the regulation expands the scope to include cryptocurrency assets and related service providers. Under the new rules, cryptocurrency service providers (including trading platforms and brokers) must collect and report detailed information about users and their transactions to their national tax authorities, which will then share this data among member states. For cryptocurrency users, the enforcement consequences of the new rules are more severe. If tax authorities suspect tax evasion or avoidance, DAC8 allows local regulators to take action in cooperation with corresponding departments in other EU countries. This cross-border collaboration also includes the power to freeze or seize cryptocurrency assets related to unpaid taxes, even if the assets or platforms are not located in the user's jurisdiction. [Individual Stock News] Tesla, Inc.: Model 3 emergency door handles face new investigation from US regulatory authorities. Tesla, Inc.'s (TSLA.US) door handles in the US are once again under review as the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Administration initiates an investigation into the emergency door opening devices of some Model 3 models. According to documents disclosed on the official website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the agency is evaluating complaints about the "mechanical emergency opening device for vehicle doors being concealed, unmarked, and difficult to locate in emergencies." This action was prompted by a petition submitted by Kevin Krause, a Tesla, Inc. owner in Georgia, who claimed to have been trapped inside his car in 2023 and requested a defect investigation. The NHTSA has not yet decided whether to accept the petition. It is estimated that the investigation covers around 179,000 2022 Model 3 sedans. In September of this year, the NHTSA initiated an investigation into whether there were defects in some Model Y SUV doors, following several incidents where children were trapped in cars due to the depletion of the 12-volt battery. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. warns fund clients about external law firm data breach. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS.US) recently issued a notice to investors of some of its alternative investment funds, informing them that their data may have been leaked due to a security vulnerability at a law firm with which the bank cooperates. In a letter sent to investors on December 19, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. stated that they were informed by their external legal counsel for multiple alternative investment funds, Ferri Law Firm, about a "cybersecurity incident." The bank said it is working with the law firm to "further understand if our or clients' data may have been compromised." This letter has been included in a proposed class action suit. The plaintiff, Andrew Sachs, is an investor in the Peterhill Private Equity Seeders Fund II Offshore, a fund managed by Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., and has filed a lawsuit against Ferri Law Firm. A spokesperson for Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. stated, "Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.'s systems have not been impacted by this incident and remain secure."