U.S. stock index futures fell, precious metals retreated across the board, spot silver surged and then dropped sharply by 6% during the day, palladium fell over 11%, and WTI crude oil rose by more than 1%

As the year-end market fully unfolds, the technology and industrial sectors boost European and Asian stocks. The metal market experiences significant volatility, with silver prices historically soaring, briefly breaking the $80 per ounce barrier before retreating, while London copper rises over 6% to reach a historic high.

On December 29, U.S. stock index futures fell slightly, while most European and Asian stock indices rose. U.S. Treasury yields remained largely unchanged, and the yield on Japan's 40-year government bonds increased. The dollar remained stable, the Korean won strengthened, and the Thai baht against the dollar saw its largest drop in seven months. Various metals surged before retreating, with spot silver breaking the $80 per ounce mark before falling back, spot gold dropping below $4,500 per ounce, and spot palladium falling over 11%, while London copper prices soared over 6% to reach a historic high, and crude oil rose. Cryptocurrencies increased, with Bitcoin briefly surpassing the $90,000 mark.

Precious metals have become the focal point of the current market, with their strong performance primarily driven by the resonance of multiple structural factors: the ongoing and unprecedented gold purchasing behavior of global central banks, significant net inflows into investment tools like ETFs, and the low-interest-rate environment created by the Federal Reserve's shift to an accommodative monetary policy.

Since precious metals do not generate interest income, the decline in real interest rates significantly reduces their holding costs, enhancing their appeal as a non-yielding asset. Currently, the market trading logic has further extended to pricing the interest rate cut path for 2026, with investors viewing precious metals as a core tool to hedge against future liquidity expansion and potential inflation risks.

The core market trends are as follows:

Dow futures are flat, S&P 500 futures are down over 0.1%, and Nasdaq futures are down over 0.2%.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index opened up 0.4%, Germany's DAX index rose 0.4%, the UK's FTSE 100 index opened flat, and France's CAC 40 index rose 0.3%.

The Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.4%, at 50,526.92 points, Japan's Topix index closed up 0.1%, at 3,426.52 points, and South Korea's Seoul Composite Index closed up 2.2%, at 4,220.56 points, the highest closing level since November 3. Samsung Electronics closed up 2.14%, and SK Hynix rose 6.84%, both reaching their highest closing prices ever.

The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds remained flat at 4.13%, while the yield on Japan's 40-year government bonds rose by 6 basis points to 3.65%.

The Korean won rose to its highest intraday level in nearly two months. The dollar against the won briefly fell 0.9% to 1,429.25, the lowest level since November 3; the Thai baht against the dollar saw its largest drop in seven months.

Spot silver fell 6.0% during the day, at $74.58 per ounce, having briefly surpassed the $80 mark earlier; spot gold fell 1.1% to $4,483.53 per ounce; London copper rose over 6% to a new high; spot palladium fell over 11%, currently at $1,726.23 per ounce; WTI crude oil rose 1.5% during the day, at $57.67 per barrel.

Bitcoin rose nearly 2% to $89,581, and Ethereum's price increased by 3.3% to $3,032.46 U.S. stock index futures are under pressure as the market awaits the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes to be released this week.

Spot silver surged nearly 6% to close to $84 per ounce in early trading before plummeting, turning negative by over 5.7% to report $74.78 per ounce.

According to Wallstreetcn, spot silver experienced a rollercoaster in early trading on Monday, amid rumors on overseas social media that a systemically important bank faced a margin call of $2.3 billion due to a short squeeze in silver futures and was forced to liquidate. The Federal Reserve injected $34 billion to stabilize the market. Speculation suggests that the involved party is a major European bank. Analysis indicates that even if the rumors are true, with a liquidity reserve of $330 billion, the $7.75 billion expenditure pressure is manageable and "would not trigger bankruptcy," but caution is advised as the market may follow a "sell first, ask questions later" panic logic.

Driven by concerns over tightening supply, London copper prices soared over 5%, nearing the $13,000 mark, setting a new historical high. The ongoing rise in current prices is partly attributed to the transmission of bullish sentiment from the precious metals market to the industrial metals sector.

Due to ongoing geopolitical risks, international oil prices have slightly increased. Although talks between Trump and Zelensky regarding a peace agreement reportedly made "significant progress," the market remains cautious due to the uncertainty surrounding the timeline for a final agreement, which is expected to take several weeks to advance, providing support for oil prices.

Bitcoin rose nearly 2%, approaching $90,000, and briefly surpassed $90,000 during the Asian trading session. Sebastian Bea, Chief Investment Officer of cryptocurrency asset management firm ReserveOne, stated that Monday's rally "seems to be driven to some extent by short-term retail traders, whose positions in the futures market are continuing to increase."