Outlook for the US market: Strengthening of dollar buying, the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance in the US decreased more than expected. The Dow Jones Average started 101 dollars higher.

$Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$
$Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$
$S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$

Top News
Expected volatility of U.S. stocks at a 2-month low due to speculation of an end to rate hikes.
The "VIX Index," which indicates the expected volatility of U.S. stocks, is declining. It has fallen for 3 consecutive days until the 21st, reaching a low level of 13.35, the lowest since September 14th, about 2 months ago. The expectation of the Federal Reserve's (FRB) end to rate hikes has spread, and the sense of caution against rising interest rates has diminished.

Dollar reacts to greater-than-expected decline in U.S. initial jobless claims.
The number of U.S. initial jobless claims for the previous week was 0.209 million, lower than the market forecast of 0.227 million. As U.S. bond yields rise, there is a demand for the dollar. However, the dollar-buying movement is limited due to the significant drop in the preliminary value of U.S. durable goods orders for October, which was -5.4% compared to the previous month, exceeding expectations.

Even with a growth rate of less than 1%, investment grade bonds can still provide double-digit returns - JP Morgan.
Although JPMorgan Chase does not have high expectations for US economic growth in 2024, it expects that the spread of investment grade bonds, which has already shrunk to its lowest level in about four months, will further shrink and that there is a high probability that it will achieve sufficient growth to reach a level not seen in five years by the end of next year.

OpenAI has reached an agreement for Sam Altman to return as CEO.
OpenAI, which developed the chat-based AI 'ChatGPT', has announced that Sam Altman will return as CEO. This was revealed in a post to X (formerly known as Twitter) on the evening of the 21st.

Ripples of 'weight loss drugs' in the US stock market as speculative buying and selling spreads.
Weight loss drugs are attracting attention in the US stock market. While the stock prices of pharmaceutical companies involved in their development have risen significantly, there are also noticeable declines in stock prices due to changes in consumer behavior affecting a wide range of sectors, such as food. The market size is expected to expand, especially in the US where 40% of adults are considered obese, leading to an increase in speculative buying and selling.

Even in the event of an increase in defaults, there are high returns in bond investments - AllianceBernstein.
Even if the number of companies falling into default (debt default) increases due to the high level of interest rates, there are still many investment opportunities in the corporate credit market. According to Gershon Distenfeld, Co-Head of Fixed Income at AllianceBernstein, defaults by companies are expected to increase next year, but the market has already priced in that risk. In other words, bond investors can continue to secure high yields and coupons without significantly impacting the market.

US regional banks face 'persistently' high funding costs - Apollo's Slok
As a result of the turmoil in the financial sector and market in March, Torsten Slok, from Apollo Management, pointed out that US regional banks have been experiencing "persistent" higher funding costs compared to large banks. In his report on the 21st, the chief economist Slok analyzed that even after 8 months since the bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), "large banks continue to enjoy funding costs significantly lower than regional banks, resulting in continued high profit margins".