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Written by Charles-Henry Monchau | Dec 23, 2023 12:34:46 PM

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WEEKLY SUMMARY: Nasdaq 100 and Dow hit new record high

Stocks continued their weekly winning streak—the longest since 2017. The S&P 500 Index briefly moved within 84 basis points of its all-time intraday high while the Nasdaq 100 Index and Dow Jones managed new records. Note that the Russell 2000 has gained 24% over the last 36 trading days, one of the biggest small cap rallies in history. Not all stocks gained; FEDEX stock is down -11% on the week as Q2 profits missed expectations. Nike is down -11% after missing sales estimates and cutting outlook. The global disinflation trend is gaining steam as inflation cools down more than expected in the U.S., UK, and Japan. In the US, the headline PCE index fell 0.1% in November, marking its first decline in 21 months, thanks to a sharp decline in goods prices. The reassuring inflation data led to a sharp decline in rate expectations over the coming year. Short-term bond yields decreased, resulting in a steepening of the Treasury yield curve. In Europe, the STOXX 600 Index ticked 0.2% higher. Stocks in China declined after the government announced new restrictions on the gaming sector. Tencent dropped by -16%, the most since 2008. Oil prices rose for the 2nd week in a row, after seven straight weeks lower. Gold rose for the 5th week of the last 6 and back above $2050 spot to three-week highs. The dollar fell to its weakest since July, down for the 5th week in the last 6. In cryptos, both ETH and BTC were up around 4% while Solana soared 35%. On the private equity side, OpenAI is in talks to raise new funding at a $100B valuation.