Trump Hints at New Fed Chair Candidate, Giving Markets a Brief Respite

Market Overview

Global markets found some temporary relief on Tuesday after former President Trump hinted that Kevin Hassett may be considered for the next Federal Reserve Chair, while stability in Japans government bond auctions further eased sentiment. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed higher, whereas the Russell 200 fell as concerns over competitive pressures among U.S. tech megacaps kept risk appetite subdued. Notably, despite the major indices posting gains in six of the past seven trading sessions, the majority of underlying constituents have actually declined.

Among individual names, Apple led large-cap gainers, while Tesla slipped after prominent short sellers questioned its valuation. Boeing surged nearly 10%. U.S. Treasury yields were mixed, with the 10-year holding largely flat. In FX markets, USD/JPY rebounded and offshore RMB strengthened toward a 14-month high. Crypto assets staged a sharp recovery from Mondays selloff, with Bitcoin jumping more than 6% to reclaim the $90,000 level and Ethereum soaring over 8% back above $3,000. Commodities delivered a mixed performance: gold edged lower, silver staged a dramatic V-shaped rebound nearing its all-time high from yesterday, and crude oil fell roughly 1.5%.

Hot Topics to Watch● Eurozone CPI Rebounds to 2.2% in November

Eurozone inflation accelerated from 2.1% to 2.2% in November, reinforcing expectations that the ECB will refrain from cutting rates this year. Service-sector prices remain elevated, while energy continues to trend lower. Markets have now largely priced out the possibility of a December rate cut, and assign only about a 25% chance of any policy easing next year.

● U.S. Holiday Shopping Season Off to a Strong Start

According to data released Tuesday by the National Retail Federation (NRF), an estimated 202.9 million U.S. consumers shopped between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday—well above the NRFs prior estimate of 186.9 million, and the highest level since the organization began tracking the figure in 2017.

Key Data to Watch (GMT+8)

18:00 EU — Eurozone October PPI (MoM)

21:15 US — ADP Employment Change for November

21:30 US — Import Price Index (MoM), September

22:15 US — Industrial Production (MoM), September

22:45 US — S&P Global Services PMI Final, November

23:00 US — ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI, November

23:30 US — EIA Crude Oil Inventories (Week Ending Nov. 28)