Morning news: Under M7 leadership, Santa Larry, Tesla up 7%. During the 'Trump 1.0' administration, the stock price index increased by 1.7 times.

◇On the 24th, the major indices in the US market continued to rise. Led by M7, the 7 major tech companies in the US were generally in a buying position at Santa Rally. S&P 500 rose by 7%. $Tesla (TSLA.US)$ Semiconductor stocks also performed well, as the investigation by the Biden administration into Chinese-made chips was seen as a positive factor. Due to it being Christmas Eve with shortened trading hours, the volume was 30% below the average of the past month.
◇On the 25th, the Tokyo stock market saw a bullish dominant market amid trading mixed with buying and selling, and the Nikkei Average rebounded to a firm price movement from the early 90,000 yen range to the middle.

Top News
S&P 500 Index Constituent Stock Price Change Ranking (24th)
◇Top 1 in the rate of increase: $Tesla (TSLA.US)$ 7% increase. No particular news. The day when the news of Honda-Nissan merger was reported saw a decline, but for the past 2 days, it has been rising. Expectations of the 'Trump effect' remain strong.
◇3rd place: $Broadcom (AVGO.US)$ 3% increase. A major securities company, along with $NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ , recommended the company's stock as a top pick for 2025, and it rose for the 3rd consecutive day.
◇Consumer $Starbucks (SBUX.US)$ and $Walmart (WMT.US)$ also rose by 2.6% and 2.8% respectively, entering the top 10.

Does history repeat itself?! The Trump administration '1.0' saw a 1.7 times increase in stock market indices!
◇After winning the U.S. presidential election in 2016, President Trump's economic policies had a profound impact on the financial markets. In particular, it consisted of around 500 leading U.S. companies, $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ as it recorded a significant increase of about 70% during his four-year term.
◇The bullish stock market was significantly influenced by President Trump's policies. The initial tax cuts and regulatory easing injected vigor into the market, but changes in trade policies brought uncertainty. When the new coronavirus pandemic hit, there were short-term effects on the market, but swift government responses led to market recovery.

New York Foreign Exchange Market Overview on the 24th: The dollar-yen slightly extended gains.
On the 24th, the dollar-yen continued to rise slightly in the New York Foreign Exchange Market. The closing price was around 157.19 yen, which was about 2 sen higher than the previous NY closing price (157.17 yen). Buying pressure for the dollar and selling pressure for the yen were seen as the U.S. 10-year bond yield, an indicator of U.S. long-term interest rates, briefly reached around 4.6250% for the first time since May 30, leading to a rise in the dollar. By 1:30 pm, the exchange rate had temporarily risen to around 157.38 yen. It should be noted that today is the day before Christmas, with shortened trading in U.S. bonds, stocks, and commodity markets. As many market participants have already begun their Christmas holidays, trading activities have been low.

【Exchange Rate Outlook for 2025】A gradual strengthening of the yen? The risks of Trump and central bank policies also pose the danger of a 'Black Monday' like in the Reiwa era.
◇When predicting the stock prices in 2025, an important factor to consider is the movement of the USD/JPY exchange rate. In 2024 as well, stock prices generally followed the pattern of 'weakened yen = higher stocks', and historical low yen levels contributed to the rise in stock prices. On the other hand, the rapid appreciation of the yen, accelerated by statements from the central banks of Japan and the USA, prompted a swift unwinding of yen carry trades by overseas hedge funds, leading to the 'Reiwa Black Monday'.
◇Summarizing the projected rate movements for 25 by world financial institutions, reflecting on the impact of the 24 Dollar-Yen rate movements and the Japanese economy, while examining the risk factors affecting stock prices.

ADR Major Stocks (Japan)
■ $Trend Micro (4704.JP)$ 、 $SoftBank Group (9984.JP)$ Is Rising
■ $Daito Trust Construction (1878.JP)$ 、 $Mazda Motor (7261.JP)$ Is Falling

Stocks Bought Yesterday! Exciting Stocks Leading to Today? Japanese Stocks
■ $Honda Motor (7267.JP)$ 1,432.5 yen (+156 yen, +12.2%)
Rose for the 3rd consecutive day. The company announced after the close of trading on the 23rd the implementation of a share buyback with a new total acquisition number of 1.1 billion shares and a total acquisition amount of up to 1 trillion 100 billion yen. At the same time, it announced the signing of a basic agreement for the consideration of business integration through the establishment of a joint holding company with $Nissan Motor (7201.JP)$ , and disclosed the possibility of involving in the consideration of management integration with both companies. $Mitsubishi Motors (7211.JP)$ 2,369 yen (+112 yen, +5.0%)
■ $Nishimatsuya Chain (7545.JP)$ Continued to rise abruptly. The company announced the swift report of monthly revenue for December (November 21 to December 20) after the close of trading on the 23rd. Existing store revenue increased by 9.3% compared to the same month last year. This marks the second consecutive month of exceeding the previous year's performance, with an increase rate not seen since October 2022, reaching the highest level in 2 years and 2 months, and has been well received.
Continued rapid growth. The company announced the fast report on monthly revenue for December after the close of trading on the 23rd (November 21 - December 20). Sales at existing stores increased by 9.3% compared to the same month last year. This is the second consecutive month to exceed the previous year's performance, with a growth rate not seen since October 2022, 2 years and 2 months ago, indicating favorable evaluations.