- American indices closed with slight gains. Nasdaq100 rose by 0.5%. A new all-time closing high was reached on the S&P 500, which ended the session at 6909 dollars after a 0.4% increase.
- The mood in the Asian session was mixed. Chinese indices took advantage of excellent US GDP data for slight gains, while other indices fell. The Shanghai Composite rose by 0.3%, and the Hang Seng limited its gains to 0.2%. Similarly, in India, the Nifty50 rose by 0.2%.
- The Korean KOSPI fell by 0.2%, and the ASX200 also recorded declines, depreciating by 0.4%. In Japan, after the BOJ minutes, the Nikkei 225 remained unchanged, but the broader TOPIX index fell by 0.4%.
- The Bank of Japan published minutes from its November monetary policy meeting:
- BOJ sees the economy as moderately growing, with CPI around 3% and positive wage dynamics, but with a clear slowdown in inflation below 2% and still negative real rates.
- BOJ will "continue rate hikes and adjust the scale of accommodation," but with a strong emphasis on "data dependency" and "global risks."
- The third year of high wage increases would formally allow the inflation target to be considered achieved and give a mandate for further tightening.
- Most of the committee refrains from action, emphasizing uncertainty about the effects of US tariffs, Tokyo's new fiscal policy, and the fact that CPI is not yet permanently at the expected 2%.
- A minority advocates for an immediate rate hike to around 0.75%, arguing that the deflationary norm has been broken, the inflation target is "largely" achieved, inflation risks are upward, and lack of action now increases the risk of later abrupt tightening.
- The market interprets the minutes as a moderate affirmation of recent communications and gives temporary trust to BOJ's normalization policy.
- The yen remains stable after strengthening in recent days, with USDJPY around 155.7.
- The Korean Won has significantly strengthened, rising by 2% against the dollar following finance minister declarations about planned reforms. The Indian Rupee and Thai Baht are also strengthening against the dollar.
- In the commodity market, copper reaches another all-time high, with contracts rising by 1.3%.
- In Western markets, significantly reduced volatility can be expected during the holiday period, with no trading on German, Polish, Italian, Swiss, and Scandinavian exchanges. Exchanges in Spain, France, the UK, and the USA will close earlier than usual.
DE40: Regulatory and diplomatic escalations amid holidays
Chart of the day: USDJPY (24.12.2025)
Daily Summary: Holiday Commodity Fever
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