Stock markets were mixed on Tuesday while silver prices rebounded amid volatile trading in precious metals.
Wall Street’s main indices closed slightly lower as worries over valuations of artificial intelligence stocks lingered in the final days of the year.
“There hasn’t been much that has moved markets” in the past few days,said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management. “Today is no different.”
Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments told AFP that it is “perfectly normal for the market to pause,consolidate,go down a little bit.”
“Right now, the market is consolidating a very strong rally from April’s low until October,” he added.
The major US indices remain on track for solid gains over the full year.
The Federal Reserve’s monetary easing in the second half of this year has been a key driver of the rally, compounding a surge in the tech sector on the back of the vast amounts of cash pumped into all things AI.
It also helped offset recent worries about a possible tech bubble and warnings that traders might not see a return on thier investments in AI for some time.
Minutes of the Fed’s recent policy meeting in December indicated that moast Fed officials see further rate cuts as appropriate, if inflation cools over time as was to be expected.
But when it came to the extent and timing of reductions, some officials suggested that it was likely appropriate to keep levels unchanged for some time after December’s cut.
“Perhaps one of the biggest threats to stock indices for 2026 is an end to interest rate cuts,or even rate hikes in the major economies,” Kathleen Brooks,research director at trading group XTB,noted Tuesday.investors, including central banks, have been piling into dollar-denominated silver and gold on expectations of more cuts to US inte
Global Markets Mixed as 2024 Closes: Nasdaq Down, European markets Rise
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Global stock markets presented a mixed picture as the year drew to a close, with the Nasdaq Composite experiencing a slight decline while European markets generally rose.Currency exchange rates also saw movement, and oil prices remained relatively stable. Here’s a breakdown of the key market performances as of December 31, 2024:
Stock Market Performance
* New York – Nasdaq Composite: Closed down 0.2 percent at 23,419.08. https://www.nasdaq.com/
* london – FTSE 100: Rose 0.8 percent to close at 9,940.71. https://www.ftse.com/
* Paris – CAC 40: Increased 0.7 percent to finish at 8,168.15. https://www.cac40.com/
* Frankfurt – DAX: gained 0.6 percent, closing at 24,490.41. https://www.dax-index.de/
* Tokyo – Nikkei 225: Fell 0.4 percent to 50,339.48. https://www.nikkei.com/
* Hong kong – Hang seng Index: Increased 0.9 percent to 25,854.60. https://www.hkex.com.hk/
* Shanghai – Composite: Remained flat at 3,965.12. http://www.sse.com.cn/
Currency Exchange Rates
* Euro/dollar: Decreased to $1.1748 from $1.1766 on Monday. https://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/eurofxref/html/index.en.html
* Pound/dollar: declined to $1.3468 from $1.3504. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/exchange-rates
* Dollar/yen: Increased to 156.43 yen from 156.06 yen. https://www.boj.or.jp/en/
* Euro/pound: Rose to 87.23 pence from 87.00 pence.https://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/eurofxref/html/index.en.html
commodity Prices
* Brent North sea Crude: Remained flat at $61.92 per barrel. https://www.londonstockexchange.com/markets-and-trading/commodities/brent-crude
* West Texas Intermediate: Decreased 0.2 percent to $57.95 per barrel. https://www.nyse.com/markets/commodities
Disclaimer: Market data is as of the close of trading on December 31,2024,and is subject to change.