Tonight’s Highlights | Spot Gold and Silver Near Record Highs – U.S. Index Futures Mildly Higher
After last Friday’s adjustment in high-valuation tech giants, the U.S. stock market is seeing a mild rebound ahead of the final full trading week of 2025.
As of press time, Nasdaq 100 futures (March 2026 contract) are up 0.56%, S&P 500 futures up 0.46%, and Dow futures up 0.45%.
(Nasdaq Index daily chart, source: TradingView)
For this week, markets will closely watch Tuesday’s U.S. employment data and Thursday’s inflation figures to gauge the Fed’s rate-cut path next year. This will largely determine year-end U.S. stock sentiment.
Markets widely expect November nonfarm payrolls to add 50,000 jobs with the unemployment rate rising to 4.5% — consistent with a “labor market continuing to soften but not rapidly deteriorating” narrative.
Morgan Stanley strategist Michael Wilson said in his latest report: “We’re now clearly back in a ‘good news is bad news, bad news is good news’ market phase. ‘Mild’ labor market weakness is likely to be interpreted by stocks as bullish.”
Meanwhile, Wall Street mainstream banks’ positive 2026 U.S. stock outlooks are bringing some cheer. Citi raised its S&P 500 target to 7,700 in a weekend report — implying a fourth straight year of double-digit percentage gains.
(S&P 500 monthly chart, source: TradingView)
Additionally, President Trump’s late last week comments on “Kevin Warsh leading the Fed chair nomination race” and Warsh’s interview view that “rates must come down” have further fueled bets on Fed easing.
As of press time, spot gold briefly touched $4,350/oz intraday, just $31 from its all-time high; spot silver is up over 3%, briefly topping $64/oz (previous high $64.65 last Friday). Platinum, palladium and other precious metals, plus LME copper, are all stronger. Non-ferrous stocks are active pre-market: Freeport-McMoRan and Barrick Gold both up over 2%, First Majestic Silver and Endeavour Silver up nearly 4%.
(Spot gold daily chart, source: TradingView)
Other Market News
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Costa sale deal at risk of collapse – Coca-Cola in emergency talks to save it
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