GoAI Market Wrap - 4th Dec

Stock Market  

Overnight and early this morning, despite pressure from weak labor-market data and doubts surrounding Microsoft’s “AI product sales,” the three major U.S. indices opened lower but climbed steadily, closing higher and taking another small, hard-won step closer to all-time highs.  

 

At the close, the S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 6,849.72 points; the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.17% to 23,454.09 points; the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.86% to 47,882.9 points.  

 

(S&P 500 daily chart, source: TradingView)  

 

After Wednesday’s close, the S&P 500 is now only 71 points away from its October 29 all-time high of 6,920 and just 21 points from a new closing record (6,870).  

 

Statistics also show that since the previous peak at the end of October, the rally has no longer been led by mega-cap tech stocks, but by names like lithium giant Albemarle, Eli Lilly, and Biogen. While tech names such as Western Digital and Teradyne have contributed, the collective weakness of the tech giants has made the advance feel painfully slow.  

 

The “AI narrative” supporting tech giants also faced scrutiny. On Wednesday, reports emerged that Microsoft and OpenAI had lowered sales expectations for so-called “AI agent” products. Although Microsoft immediately denied the claims, its stock still fell 2.5%, dragging down Nvidia, Broadcom, and other AI darlings.  

Global Hotspots  

Trump: U.S. envoys’ meeting with Russian president “went quite well”  

 

On December 3 local time, President Trump commented on earlier U.S.-Russia talks regarding a “peace agreement.” Trump said the meeting between U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner with President Putin “went quite well.”

 

However, he said he could not disclose outcomes because it requires effort from both sides. Trump added that Putin wants to end the conflict.  

 

U.S. deploys drones reverse-engineered from Iranian design  

 

The U.S. Department of Defense announced Wednesday the formation of suicide-drone squadrons for deployment to the Middle East. These low-cost drones were manufactured by U.S. defense firm SpektreWorks through reverse-engineering Iran’s Shahed-136.

 

The Pentagon previously announced plans to equip every Army squad with small one-way attack drones by the end of fiscal 2026.  

 

“World’s No.1 influencer” team discusses IPO  

 

At an event on Wednesday, Beast Industries CEO Jeff Housenbold — the company behind “world’s top influencer” MrBeast — publicly stated he hopes at some point to let the 1.4 billion unique viewers who watched MrBeast content in the past 90 days become company owners.

 

Beast Industries reportedly raised funding last year at a $5 billion valuation; its largest revenue source is currently selling chocolate leveraging online influence.  

Corporate News  

Micron announces exit from retail storage business  

 

Memory-chip maker Micron Technology announced Wednesday it is shutting down its Crucial consumer business to focus on supplying chips to “faster-growing, larger-scale strategic customers such as AI data centers.  

 

Apple design chief joins Meta to lead AI consumer product design  

 

Latest reports Wednesday say Apple design executive Alan Dye is leaving to become Meta’s Chief Design Officer. Meta will establish a new design studio, with Dye tasked with integrating AI into hardware, software, and interface design for consumer products.  

 

Glencore vows to become “king of copper”  

 

As international copper prices hit new highs Wednesday, mining giant Glencore announced plans to double copper production over the next decade to 1.6 million tonnes annually. It also lowered its 2026 copper output forecast to 810–870 kt (down ~10% from prior guidance) due to an accident at its Collahuasi mine in Chile.  

 

Marvell surges over 7% on major bet in optical interconnect technology  

 

ASIC chipmaker Marvell Technology closed up 7.87% Wednesday. The company announced Tuesday it will acquire semiconductor startup Celestial AI for $3.25 billion ($1 billion cash + $2.25 billion in Marvell common stock). The deal is expected to close in Q1 2026.  

 

Morgan Stanley considering offloading data-center loan risk  

 

Reports Wednesday say Morgan Stanley is exploring the sale of Significant Risk Transfer (SRT) products tied to loans it extended for companies building AI physical infrastructure. SRTs transfer a portion of loan-default losses to third-party investors, freeing up the bank’s lending capacity.  

Forex & Commodities  

International oil prices rose on December 3.

 

At the close, the front-month WTI crude oil futures contract on the NYMEX gained $0.47 to $59.11 per barrel, up 0.80%. COMEX gold futures front-month contract rose $14.00, or 0.33%, to $4,234.8 per ounce.  

 

On December 3 local time, the U.S. Dollar Index fell 0.51% and closed at 98.855 in late New York trading.  

Key Events  

Goldman Sachs strategists see further dollar weakness ahead  

 

Goldman Sachs chief FX & EM strategist Kamakshya Trivedi said: “The dollar no longer has overvaluation support; its premium has shrunk significantly this year… We see room for further depreciation, reflecting expectations the Fed will continue easing in December and next year.”

 

The likely nomination of NEC Director Kevin Hassett as next Fed Chair is one reason markets expect more aggressive rate cuts.  

Cryptocurrency  

Bitcoin 24h +2.39% to $93,438.09.  

 

Ethereum +6.62% to $3,194.59. 

 

XRP +2.48%, BNB +5.28%, Solana +4.62%.  

 

Dogecoin +4.21%, Cardano +4.14%.  

Key Events  

Bank of America to begin recommending Bitcoin investments to clients  

 

Starting in January, Bank of America will formally recommend Bitcoin to its wealth-management clients — a major shift in the bank’s stance on digital assets.  

 

According to Bitcoinist, investment advisors were previously prohibited from endorsing crypto products and could only provide services upon client request.  

 

From January 5, investment strategists will cover four spot Bitcoin ETFs, allowing advisors to recommend 1%–4% allocations in Merrill Lynch, Private Bank, and Merrill Edge. CIO Chris Hyzy said the updated guidance focuses on regulated products and a balanced understanding of risks and opportunities.

 

The ETFs include BlackRock’s IBIT, Fidelity’s FBTC, Bitwise’s BITB, and Grayscale’s BTC. As one of the world’s largest systemically important banks, BofA’s move highlights growing institutional acceptance of Bitcoin.