Overview
- U.S. stocks extended their rally with the Dow up 664 points, the S&P 500 +0.9% and the Nasdaq +0.7%, as the 10‑year Treasury yield eased to about 4.00%.
- Futures pricing via CME FedWatch showed sharply higher odds for a December cut after comments from New York Fed’s John Williams and follow‑up remarks from Mary Daly and Christopher Waller.
- Alphabet closed at a record, nearing a $4 trillion market value, while a report that Meta may use Google’s AI chips pressured Nvidia, which fell 2.6%.
- Small caps outperformed, with the Russell 2000 up 2.1%, as holiday‑thinned trading followed mixed, partly delayed data on retail sales, producer prices and consumer confidence.
- Australia’s ASX eked out a gain as miners and gold stocks rose with bullion near US$4,130/oz; Bendigo & Adelaide Bank fell about 7% after an AML review, and Qube jumped on a Macquarie takeover offer.