According to Zhito Finance, the US stock market fluctuated in quiet trading after the holiday, as the initial jobless claims showed mixed results and failed to change the market's bets on the Federal Reserve's policy outlook. The S&P 500 Index slightly fell, hovering around 6037 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased by 0.1%. Among the three major indices, only the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw an increase, achieving five consecutive rises.

Data compiled by Bespoke Investment Group shows that after the S&P 500 Index recorded its best Christmas Eve performance since 1974, the stock market struggled to gain momentum. As major European markets closed, the trading volume in the US stock market was far below last month's average level.

[US Stocks] The Dow Jones Index closed up 28.77 points, an increase of 0.07%, to 43325.80 points; the S&P 500 Index closed down 2.45 points, a decrease of 0.04%, to 6037.59 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index closed down 10.77 points, a decrease of 0.05%, to 20020.36 points. Apple (AAPL.US) rose 0.3% to set a new high—with a Market Cap of 3.92 trillion USD; Tesla (TSLA.US) fell 1.7%, and Honda Motor (HMC.US) rose by 4%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index rose 0.4%.

[European Stocks] Major European stocks are closed.

[Asia-Pacific Stock Markets] The Nikkei 225 Index rose 1.12%, while the South Korea KOSPI Index fell 0.60%.

[Cryptos] Bitcoin dropped by 3%, trading at 95456.95 USD. Ethereum fell by 4.1%, trading at 3324.56 USD.

[Gold] COMEX Gold Futures closed up 0.71% at $2654.3 per ounce. Spot gold rose 0.67% in mid-session, closing at $2634.39 per ounce.

[Crude Oil] International crude oil futures settled slightly lower. WTI February crude oil futures fell $0.48, a decline of 0.68%, at $69.62 per barrel. Brent February crude oil futures fell $0.32, a decline of 0.43%, at $73.26 per barrel.

[Metal] London Metal Exchange is closed.

[Forex] In New York's late trading, the USD remained flat at 108.09, with mixed performance among non-USD currencies. The Euro rose 0.15% against the USD at 1.0423, the British Pound fell 0.24% against the USD at 1.2527, the Australian Dollar fell 0.29% against the USD at 0.6221, the USD rose 0.5% against the Japanese Yen at 158.01, and the USD fell 0.19% against the Swiss Franc at 0.8988.

[Macroeconomic News]

The number of initial unemployment claims in the USA has decreased, temporarily avoiding a massive wave of layoffs. Last week's initial unemployment claims in the USA showed a decline, indicating that the US economy has still avoided significant layoffs in the final stages of 2024. The US Department of Labor reported on Thursday that 0.219 million people applied for new unemployment benefits in the week ending December 21, compared to 0.22 million the previous week, and the market expectation was 0.225 million. The current unemployment rate in the USA is 4.2%, which remains relatively mild by the standards of the past decade. However, during 2024, the unemployment rate has seen a slight increase, suggesting a softening labor market, reflected in factors such as a decrease in job openings per job seeker, a drop in the number of new jobs created, and more industries reducing hiring. Additionally, the number of people continuing to claim unemployment benefits rose to 1.91 million, the highest level in three years.

Retail sales in the USA rose by 3.8% during the holiday season, with strong demand for e-commerce outfits. According to an initial report from MasterCard SpendingPulse, from November 1 to December 24, retail sales in the USA (excluding automobiles) increased by 3.8% year-on-year. Notably, the last five days of the holiday season accounted for 10% of all holiday spending. This significant increase of 3.8% is primarily attributed to retailers heavily promoting in anticipation of fierce competition during the holiday season, effectively stimulating consumer shopping enthusiasm and prompting a surge in purchases on the eve of the holiday. Compared to last year's increase of 3.1%, this year's sales growth is even stronger and far exceeds the 3.2% increase projected by MasterCard in September. During this period, major retailers, including Walmart (WMT.US), Target (TGT.US), and Amazon (AMZN.US), ramped up promotional activities and focused more on conveying value messages to attract customers. These large retail companies successfully drew many consumers to shop during the holiday season through enhanced promotions and an emphasis on cost-effectiveness.

[Individual Stock News]

OpenAI aims to convert into a profit-making company, with Microsoft (MSFT.US) serving as a hindrance, focusing on four key negotiation points. According to reports, OpenAI CEO Altman wishes to transform the non-profit-run AI development company into a for-profit entity, with Microsoft being the biggest obstacle he faces. The company holds significant influence in this process as it has committed over $13 billion to OpenAI. Since last October, the two companies have been negotiating potential changes to OpenAI's structure, mainly concentrating on four aspects: Microsoft's equity in the for-profit entity; whether Microsoft will continue as OpenAI's exclusive cloud service provider; how long Microsoft will maintain the right to use OpenAI's intellectual property to meet its product demands; and whether Microsoft will continue to extract 20% from OpenAI's revenue. This information comes from insiders who have discussed with Altman. It is currently unclear when OpenAI and Microsoft plan to complete this process, but both parties are moving quickly and face time pressure: if OpenAI fails to complete the transition within the next two years, recently financed investors can reclaim their funds along with 9% interest—a total of about $7.2 billion. Company leadership has informed employees that OpenAI hopes to repurchase some of their shares following the profitable transition, providing employees ample reason to hope for a swift completion of this transformation.

Analyst: Apple (AAPL.US) is expected to reach a market cap of $4 trillion. Wedbush analysts stated in a research report that Apple will enter a golden era of growth by 2025, driven by a multi-year iPhone upgrade cycle fueled by AI, which Wall Street has yet to fully recognize. Analysts mentioned that the seeds of Apple's 'Apple Intelligence' strategy are being planted, which will change its consumer growth trajectory in the coming years. They estimate that hundreds of applications being developed around 'Apple Intelligence' should generate billions in revenue streams from services each year. Analysts expect Apple to achieve a market cap of $4 trillion, becoming the first member of this exclusive club. They revised their target stock price to $325.

Alibaba (BABA.US) agrees to merge its South Korean business with E-Mart's e-commerce platform. Reports indicate that Alibaba plans to merge its South Korean operations with the e-commerce platform Gmarket under the domestic retail company E-Mart to solidify its position in South Korea's fiercely competitive online retail market. According to documents submitted by E-Mart to the South Korean exchange, Alibaba's global South Korean business and Gmarket will form a joint venture, with both parties holding 50% stakes. The new joint venture's valuation is reported to potentially reach approximately $4 billion.

Microstrategy (MSTR.US) plans to issue additional stocks to purchase Bitcoin. In documents submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this Monday, Microstrategy seeks to increase the authorized share count of Class A common stocks and preferred stocks to raise more funds for Bitcoin purchases. Since announcing plans to raise $21 billion through stock and bond issuance at the end of last October, MicroStrategy has begun an active Bitcoin acquisition effort. Thus far, MicroStrategy has issued about $13 billion in stocks and $3 billion in convertible bonds under this plan, with all funds allocated for Bitcoin purchases. Currently, MicroStrategy has become the world's largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, possessing approximately 0.439 million Bitcoins, with a market cap of about $43 billion, accounting for over 2% of the total global Bitcoin supply. Notably, MicroStrategy's future stock issuance may further dilute existing shareholders' holdings. Currently, the company has issued about 0.223 billion Class A common stocks, with fully diluted shares around 0.26 billion. If this issuance plan proceeds smoothly, MicroStrategy's circulating share count next year may approach its authorized limit of 0.33 billion shares.