Pre-Market Report – Monday 16 December: US markets pause ahead of Fed | SPI down 39

Wall St ended near flat on Friday night, giving up early gains in a quiet session. The Dow dropped 86 points (-0.20%). Its seventh loss in a row was the longest stretch since 2020. Doesn’t reflect much about the US market, there’s only 30 stocks in the equal weighted index. The S&P 500 closed flat, while the NASDAQ outperformed gaining 0.12% (+0.8% at best). Supported by gains in chip stocks as Broadcom rallied 24.43%. Tipping the company’s valuation over $1 trillion, becoming the 10th public company to achieve the milestone. It predicted a massive expansion in demand for chips that power AI, expecting a $60bn-90bn AI revenue opportunity by 2027. More than four times the current size of the market. Other chip markets were mixed, Nivida down 2.2% and AMD lost 2.8%, while Marvell rose 10.8% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gained 3.4%. Treasury yields rose across the board. The US 10Y yield up 6.5bps, hitting a three-week high while the 2Y yield gained 5.2bps. Bitcoin rose 1.62% on Friday night and jumped another 1.3% over the weekend to $102,877. USD Index flat, and the Aussie dollar slipped 0.17% to 63.56US cents.ASX set to fall. SPI futures down 39 points (0.47%).COMMODITIESCopper output in Peru down 1.4% in October.LME stocks data supports copper, but dollar dominates.Gold slips, but set for weekly rise on potential US Fed rate cut.Oil up 2%, settles at 3-week high as more sanctions loom on Russia, Iran.UAE to cut oil shipments amid OPEC+ push for quota discipline, Bloomberg News reports.Why not sign up for a free trial? Get access to expert market insights and manage your investments with confidence. Ready to invest in yourself? Join the Marcus Today community.