Overnight U.S. Stocks | Dow Jones and S&P 500 Index hit intraday historical highs again, MicroStrategy down 12.33%

According to Zhitong Finance, on Tuesday, the three major indices closed higher. During the session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to a high of 44,903.01 points, and the S&P 500 index rose to 6,025.42 points, both setting intraday historical highs.

[U.S. Stocks] As of the close, the Dow Jones rose 123.74 points, an increase of 0.28%, closing at 44,860.31 points; the Nasdaq rose 119.46 points, an increase of 0.63%, closing at 19,174.30 points; the S&P 500 index rose 34.26 points, an increase of 0.57%, closing at 6,021.63 points. NVIDIA (NVDA.US) rose 0.66%, Tesla (TSLA.US) fell 0.11%, MicroStrategy (MSTR.US) fell 12.33%, and Apple (AAPL.US) rose 0.94%.

[European Stocks] The German DAX 30 index fell 100.90 points, a decrease of 0.52%, closing at 19,308.75 points; the UK FTSE 100 index fell 32.49 points, a decrease of 0.39%, closing at 8,259.19 points; the French CAC 40 index fell 62.96 points, a decrease of 0.87%, closing at 7,194.51 points; the Euro Stoxx 50 index fell 37.82 points, a decrease of 0.79%, closing at 4,762.05 points; the Spanish IBEX 35 index fell 90.29 points, a decrease of 0.77%, closing at 11,621.51 points; the Italian FTSE MIB index fell 246.72 points, a decrease of 0.74%, closing at 33,181.00 points.

[Asia-Pacific Stock Markets] The Nikkei 225 index fell 0.87%, the Jakarta Composite Index in Indonesia fell 0.93%, and the KOSPI index in South Korea fell 0.55%.

[Cryptocurrency] Bitcoin fell over 1%, trading at $91,930.39 per coin; Ethereum fell over 2.4%, trading at $330.34 per coin.

[Gold] International precious metal futures generally closed higher, with COMEX gold futures rising 0.58% to $2,633.8 per ounce, and COMEX silver futures rising 0.8% to $30.48 per ounce.

[Crude Oil] The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for January delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by 17 cents, a decrease of 0.25%, closing at $68.77 per barrel.

[Metals] LME copper futures closed down $45, at $9,000 per ton. LME aluminum futures closed down $40, at $2,612 per ton. LME zinc futures closed up $56, at $3,076 per ton. LME lead futures closed down $8, at $2,021 per ton. LME nickel futures closed down $207, at $15,996 per ton. LME tin futures closed down $72, at $28,904 per ton. LME cobalt futures were flat, at $24,300 per ton.

[Macroeconomic News]

U.S. consumer confidence improved again in November, reaching a two-year high. Dana M. Peterson, chief economist of the Conference Board, said, "U.S. consumer confidence continued to improve in November, reaching the highest level in the past two years. The increase in November was mainly due to consumers' more positive assessment of the current situation, particularly in the labor market." Compared to October, consumers' optimism about future job opportunities has significantly increased, reaching the highest level in nearly three years. Meanwhile, consumers' expectations for future business conditions remained unchanged, while their optimism about future income slightly declined.

Federal Reserve Meeting Minutes: Officials Prefer Gradual Rate Cuts in the Future. The minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent monetary policy meeting indicate that officials generally support a cautious approach to future rate cuts as the economy remains solid and inflation cools slowly. According to the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on November 6-7, "Participants expect that if the data aligns broadly with expectations, inflation continues to decline towards 2%, and the economy remains close to full employment, it may be appropriate over time to gradually shift to a more neutral policy stance." The Federal Reserve cut rates by 50 basis points in September and lowered the benchmark rate by 25 basis points earlier this month to a range of 4.5%-4.75%. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated earlier this month that the economy has not signaled any urgency to lower rates. Federal Reserve officials will hold their last policy meeting of the year on December 17-18. Policymakers also noted in the November meeting that the so-called neutral rate lacks clarity, which is another reason for caution. The neutral rate refers to a policy level that neither restricts nor stimulates economic growth. According to the minutes released on Tuesday in Washington, many officials indicated that uncertainty complicates the assessment of the restrictiveness of monetary policy, leading them to believe that gradually easing the degree of policy restriction is appropriate. Over the past year, Federal Reserve officials' estimates of the neutral rate have steadily increased, but it remains unclear how close rates are to this level. The minutes also revealed that Federal Reserve officials are considering a "technical adjustment" to the overnight reverse repurchase agreement rate.

Trump and Biden Administration Reach Necessary Agreement for Presidential Transition Work. On November 26 local time, President-elect Trump and the Biden administration reached a necessary agreement to allow Trump's transition team to coordinate with existing federal staff before his inauguration on January 20. Under the congressionally authorized agreement, transition team staff can collaborate with federal agencies and access non-public information, while government staff are also allowed to communicate with the transition team. However, Trump refused to sign another agreement with the General Services Administration (GSA). This agreement would have allowed his team to use government-secured office space and email accounts, but it required the president-elect to limit donations to $5,000 and publicly disclose the list of individuals donating to his transition efforts.

Multiple Parties Confirm Ceasefire Agreement Between Lebanon and Israel. The United States, Israel, and Lebanon have all confirmed that a ceasefire agreement led by the United States has been reached. President Biden stated that Israel and Lebanon have accepted the ceasefire agreement, and within the next 60 days, Israeli forces will gradually withdraw from Lebanon; the agreement will take effect at 4 a.m. local time on Wednesday and aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire. The Israeli Prime Minister's Office stated that the Israeli security cabinet approved the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah by a vote of 10 to 1. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomed the ceasefire agreement during a phone conversation with Biden French President Macron and Biden jointly issued a statement saying they will work together to ensure the full and complete implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon. In addition, Biden revealed that he would promote a ceasefire in the Gaza region with several countries in the coming days. As of the time of publication, Hezbollah has not issued any statements.

【Individual Stock News】

U.S. airlines exposed for charging tens of billions in seat selection fees; executives to face hearings. On November 26, local time, the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a report criticizing U.S. airlines for charging fees for flight seat selection. The chairman of the subcommittee stated that airline executives have been subpoenaed to testify at a hearing scheduled for December 4 regarding this practice. The report indicated that from 2018 to 2023, American Airlines (AAL.US), Delta Air Lines (DAL.US), United Airlines (UAL.US), Spirit Airlines (SAVEQ.US), and Frontier Airlines (ULCC.US) collectively charged $12.4 billion in seat selection fees, which included fees for seats with more legroom, seats located at the front of the cabin, and window or aisle seats. It is reported that while most major U.S. airlines have eliminated change fees for standard economy tickets, they have increased fees for certain more popular or spacious seats on the plane. Additionally, airlines are competing to add premium seats onboard to boost revenue.

Stellantis (STLA.US) prepares to close UK factory due to electric vehicle mandate. Stellantis proposed to close a van factory located in Luton, UK, after the automaker warned that it may reduce production in the UK due to the country's zero-emission vehicle sales mandate. The owner of Vauxhall Motors stated on Monday that it plans to shift production of medium vans from this factory to its facility in Ellesmere Port to improve efficiency. The company also plans to transfer hundreds of jobs to Ellesmere Port and invest an additional £50 million ($63 million) there. Stellantis has threatened to halt its UK operations and warned of the impact of what it calls the UK's overly stringent electric vehicle targets. The UK has introduced regulations requiring that 10% of new van sales this year be zero-emission, rising to 70% by the end of the century. Similar regulations apply to cars