GoAI Market Wrap - 16th Dec

Stock Market  

On Monday Eastern Time, U.S. stocks opened higher but closed lower, with all three major indices ending in the red as artificial intelligence (AI) concept stocks continued to face pressure.  

 

(Intraday charts of the three major indices, source: TradingView)  

 

At the close, the Dow Jones Index fell 0.09% to 48,416.56 points; the S&P 500 Index fell 0.16% to 6,816.51 points; the Nasdaq Index fell 0.59% to 23,057.41 points.  

 

Some AI concept stocks weighed on the broader market, with Broadcom and Oracle down over 5% and over 2%, respectively. Other tech stocks like Microsoft also saw varying degrees of declines.  

 

Investors shifted toward sectors more sensitive to the economy, such as discretionary consumer and industrials, while heavily buying healthcare stocks.  

 

Aptus Capital Advisors equity head David Wagner said: “It feels like everyone is sick of the AI trade right now — there’s no doubt about that. But I think the market will still be dominated by highly concentrated leaders — the ‘Magnificent Seven’ — because the market continues to underestimate the operating leverage these companies have.”  

 

“As long as revenue keeps growing at a reasonable pace, these companies will continue expanding margins and be high-return beneficiaries next year,” he added.  

 

In the short term, Wagner is not too worried about the broader market, calling the pullback “healthy” and “normal.” He believes the so-called “Santa Claus rally” may have partially played out but “there’s still some upside left.”  

 

“The market needs fundamentals to change for things to shift, and I don’t think that’s happening anytime soon,” Wagner said.  

 

This week, multiple economic data releases could set the tone. November nonfarm payrolls will be released Tuesday, along with October retail sales data — both delayed earlier due to the U.S. federal government shutdown.  

 

Tesla rose over 3% after CEO Musk said the company is currently testing fully driverless robotaxis without human safety operators.  

Global Hotspots  

Putin approves Russia-India military cooperation agreement  

 

Russian President Putin signed a legal document on the 15th approving a military cooperation agreement signed with India in February this year. The document was published on Russia’s legal information website that day.

 

It states that approval of the Russia-India military cooperation agreement will promote development and strengthening of military ties between the two sides and simplify notification procedures for warships entering each other’s ports and military aircraft using each other’s airspace and airport facilities.  

 

Venezuela defense minister: Ready to defend the homeland  

 

On the 15th local time, Venezuelan Defense Minister López said surrender is absolutely impossible for Venezuela.

 

The nation remains vigilant at all times and is ready to defend the homeland. López emphasized that the Venezuelan people are “rising up against the shameful acts of U.S. imperialism” because they love peace and freedom.  

 

Argentina central bank to reform exchange rate band system in 2026  

 

The Argentine central bank said in a Monday statement it will adjust its currency exchange rate band mechanism starting January 1, 2026, with monthly adjustments in line with inflation pace.

 

The central bank will also launch a foreign reserve accumulation plan next month, potentially adding $10 billion in reserves in 2026 under the baseline scenario — or up to $17 billion depending on whether money demand rises by 1% of GDP.  

 

Hassett’s Fed chair candidacy opposed by some Trump inner circle  

 

Reports say White House NEC Director Hassett’s candidacy for Fed chair has faced opposition from some senior figures around Trump, who worry Hassett is too close to the president.  

Corporate News  

Nasdaq applies to extend weekday trading hours to 23 hours  

 

Nasdaq said Monday it filed with the SEC to launch near-24/7 stock trading, extending stock and ETP trading from 16 hours on five weekdays to 23 hours.  

 

Currently, Nasdaq has three weekday sessions: pre-market 4:00–9:30 a.m. ET, regular 9:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m. ET, and after-hours 4:00–8:00 p.m. ET.  

 

Under the “23/5” plan (23 hours on five weekdays), there will be two sessions: daytime from 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET (including pre, regular, and after-hours, retaining 9:30 a.m. open and 4:00 p.m. close bells), followed by one hour for maintenance/testing/clearing; nighttime from 9:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. next day. Trades from 9:00 p.m.–midnight will count toward the next day.  

 

The trading week will start Sunday 9:00 p.m. ET and end Friday 8:00 p.m. ET after daytime session.  

 

Nvidia releases Nemotron 3 series open-source models  

 

On December 15, Nvidia released the Nemotron 3 family of open-source models, including Nano/Super/Ultra versions, introducing a hybrid Mamba-Transformer expert mixture architecture.  

 

Musk net worth surges to $677 billion  

 

According to Forbes data, Musk’s net worth has reached $677 billion.  

 

The surge is mainly due to a valuation jump at SpaceX. Reports earlier this month said SpaceX launched an internal share tender offer valuing the company at $800 billion — double August’s $400 billion.  

 

Based on Musk’s ~42% stake, as of noon Monday ET, his wealth increased by $168 billion to ~$677 billion.  

 

Strategy spends $980 million last week adding Bitcoin, holdings exceed 670,000 coins  

 

On December 15, major Bitcoin holder Strategy announced purchases of 10,645 bitcoins from December 8–14 for $980.3 million at an average price of $92,098. As of December 14, Strategy holds 671,268 bitcoins at an average cost of $74,972.  

 

Sanofi expands partnership with Dren Bio to co-develop next-gen B-cell depletion therapies  

 

Biopharma company Sanofi announced on December 15 a strategic partnership with Dren Bio to jointly discover and develop next-generation B-cell depletion therapies for multiple autoimmune diseases. Dren Bio will receive $100 million upfront and is eligible for up to $1.7 billion in future milestones, plus tiered royalties. The new partnership builds on Sanofi’s prior acquisition of DR-0201 assets.  

Forex & Commodities  

WTI crude futures closed down 1.08% at $56.82 per barrel. Brent crude futures down 0.92% at $60.56 per barrel.  

 

Spot silver up 3.42% at $64.13 per ounce. COMEX gold futures up 0.14% at $4,334.3 per ounce; COMEX silver futures up 3.42% at $64.13 per ounce.  

 

The U.S. Dollar Index fell 0.09% to 98.306.  

Key Events  

Fed Milan: Underlying inflation near target, Fed policy overly tight  

 

Fed Governor Stephen Milan said Monday that current above-target inflation does not reflect true supply-demand conditions, and actual price pressures make inflation closer to the Fed’s 2% goal.

 

He asserted “prices have stabilized.” The latest U.S. inflation report showed the Fed-preferred gauge at 2.8% YoY, above the 2% target.  

Cryptocurrency  

Bitcoin 24h −2.43% to $86,121.90.  

 

Ethereum −3.27% to $2,961.75.  

 

XRP −4.46%, BNB −2.05%, Solana −1.96%.  

 

Dogecoin −3.88%, Cardano −2.53%.  

Key Events  

$80K becomes strong Bitcoin support  

As Bitcoin undergoes a phased pullback and quickly stabilizes, a brokerage said the resilience around $80K is no accident but supported by multiple on-chain and capital structure indicators. From a market structure perspective, this zone has evolved into a key defensive range for the mid-term trend.  

 

On-chain cost distribution shows the realized market average stable around $81K in this adjustment. ZFX Shanhai Securities believes this indicator focuses on active chips and more truly reflects short- to mid-term trader psychological costs. Bitcoin has stayed above this level since breaking it last year; this retest without break reinforces consensus on the bull market core zone.