1. U.S. stocks sank on Monday while Bitcoin’s slump deepened, as Wall Street’s strong late-November rebound looked set to hit a speed bump on the first trading day of December. Tech led the retreat, with the Nasdaq Composite down by around 1% and the S&P 500 dropping roughly 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid around 0.6%, after the blue-chip benchmark led Wall Street indexes to a fifth day of gains on Friday. All the “Magnificent Seven” megacap stocks, except Amazon, pulled back, led by falls of around 1% for Nvidia, Meta, and Tesla. Meanwhile, Bitcoin fell sharply, losing nearly 6% in another sign that markets are kicking off December in a risk-off mood. December is typically a strong month for stocks, but strategists say the so-called Santa Claus rally may not occur this year, as a string of events keeps uncertainty high. That has led stocks to buck the usual seasonal trends throughout 2025, analysts say.
2. After cutting interest rates by more than a percentage point, Federal Reserve officials are now wondering where to stop, and find there’s more disagreement than ever. In the past year or so, prescriptions for where rates should end up have diverged by the most since at least 2012, when U.S. central bankers started publishing their estimates. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has acknowledged “strongly differing views” across the rate-setting committee about which of their two goals, stable prices and maximum employment, to prioritize. But that raises another question, one that’s more abstract but increasingly important to the whole debate: what rate of interest would neither stimulate the economy nor squeeze it? This is the presumed endpoint of the cutting cycle. It’s known as the “neutral” rate. And right now, the collective Fed is struggling to figure out what it is.
3. Treasuries are on track for their worst week in six months as investors brace for a slate of U.S. inflation and sentiment data. 10-year yields edged up to 4.12%, taking them 10 basis points higher for the week, the most since June. Yields have failed to sustain a late-November break below 4% given that some Federal Reserve policymakers remain cautious on further easing due to inflationary fears. The 30-year yield climbed to 4.78%, the highest since September. That’s put Friday’s Personal Consumer Expenditure data into focus. While the headline number for September is expected to pick up to 2.8% from the previous year, the core PCE reading — the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation- is forecast to have slowed to 2.8%, according to a poll of economists. A softer reading would signal that underlying inflation is continuing to drift toward the Fed’s 2% target, bolstering bets for further interest-rate cuts.
4. U.S. consumer sentiment improved slightly in December, even as Americans grappled with a frozen job market and rising prices. The overall preliminary sentiment reading was 53.3, compared to last month’s level of 51. The median estimate from the survey of economists projected December’s gauge hitting 52. The index hadn’t increased on a monthly basis since July. Sentiment gains were driven by younger consumers, rising 4.5% from November.
5. Gasoline prices fell to an average of $3 per gallon this week to hit their lowest level since 2021. As of Monday, at least 30 states saw an average of less than $3 at the pump, as lower crude prices and less expensive winter blends give relief to drivers heading into the December holiday season. “With refinery maintenance largely complete and OPEC increasing oil production for December, oil prices have struggled,” GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan said on Monday. “Combine those factors, and you have a solid recipe for continued downward pressure on gas prices in the weeks ahead.” De Haan noted a handful of stations in the Midwest have even seen prices slip below $2 per gallon, with that number expected to grow as the Christmas holiday season approaches.
6. As we approach a new year, investors are questioning the billions spent on AI infrastructure, a main driver of U.S. stock prices in 2025, and the U.S. economy is facing pricing and unemployment pressures. Despite those potential headwinds, declining interest rates in 2026 could support resilient corporate earnings. Let’s explore what experts say about these competing dynamics and their impact on different areas of investment in 2026. After two consecutive years of gains, the S&P 500 is poised for another profitable year. Ayako Yoshioka, consulting director at Wealth Enhancement, highlighted the S&P 500’s average annual return of about 7% as a reasonable expectation for 2026. Yoshioka also expects some volatility next “as the AI theme continues to be hotly debated.” Gold’s value increased more than 50% in 2025, thanks to geopolitical tensions, strong central bank demand, and global economic uncertainty. Paul Williams, managing director at Solomon Global, expects these drivers to remain firmly in place in 2026. In other words, gold’s historic run is likely to continue. “We expect the precious metal to continue its upward trajectory and reach $5,000 per ounce,” said Williams.
7. In the week ending November 29, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 191,000, a decrease of 27,000 from the previous week’s revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since September 24, 2022, when it was 189,000. The previous week’s level was revised up by 2,000 from 216,000 to 218,000. The 4-week moving average was 214,750, a decrease of 9,500 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 500 from 223,750 to 224,250.
8. Oil prices edged up about 1% to a two-week high on Friday on increasing expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week, which could boost economic growth and energy demand, and geopolitical uncertainty that could reduce supplies from Russia and Venezuela. Brent futures rose 62 cents, or 1.0%, to $63.88 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 60 cents, or 1.0%, to $60.27.
9. The EUR/USD now loses some traction and slips back to the area of daily lows around 1.1630 on the back of a mild bounce in the U.S. Dollar. Fresh data, including the September PCE inflation numbers and the latest read on December consumer sentiment, didn’t really move the needle, so the pair is still on course to finish the week with a respectable gain.
10. The Japanese Yen continues with its outperformance against a broadly weaker U.S. Dollar for the third straight day and advances to a nearly three-week high during the early European session on Friday. Traders ramped up their bets for an imminent interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan (BoJ) following Governor Kazuo Ueda’s remarks earlier this week.
Gold and silver prices jumped on Monday as investors flocked to precious metals amid growing market bets on a December rate cut by the Federal Reserve and rising concerns that a surge in the Japanese yen could wreak havoc on markets. Gold futures rose above $4,270 per troy ounce after closing out their fourth straight month of gains and bringing the yellow metal back within shouting distance of its October record high of $4,336. Gold is now up more than 60% year to date, far outperforming the S&P 500 and leaping ahead of Bitcoin, which on Monday sat roughly 9% lower than its price at the start of the year. Meanwhile, silver futures hit intraday nominal all-time highs north of $58 per ounce. Year to date, the metal is up a stunning 100%, with some strategists seeing $60 in sight. Dovish commentary from Federal Reserve officials has raised investor bets that policymakers will decide to cut interest rates by at least 25 basis points this month. As rates fall, the dollar is also expected to drop, supporting precious metal prices. Gold and silver also become increasingly attractive as rates move lower because investors may opt for the metals instead of yield-bearing assets like bonds. “The U.S. dollar index is heading down, and the crypto sell-off is contributing to the precious metals rally,” Maria Smirnova, chief investment officer at Sprott Asset Management, told the media on Monday.
U.S. private employers lost 32,000 positions in November, with job creation seemingly locked in a standstill, according to the private payroll processor ADP. The firm’s revised data showed a gain of 47,000 jobs in October, coming off losses in September and August. Job creation has essentially been flat in the second half of this year, ADP said, and small businesses in particular appeared to struggle in November. “Hiring has been choppy of late as employers weather cautious consumers and an uncertain macroeconomic environment,” ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said in a statement. “And while November’s slowdown was broad-based, it was led by a pullback among small businesses.”
U.S. mortgage rates fell last week to a one-month low, spurring home-purchase activity. The contract rate on a 30-year mortgage dropped 8 basis points to 6.32% in the week ended Nov. 28, which included the Thanksgiving holiday, according to data released Wednesday. The rate on a five-year adjustable mortgage declined to 5.4%, the lowest since May 2023. The group’s gauge of home-purchase applications climbed 2.5% to the highest level since early 2023. MBA’s measure of refinancing, meantime, fell for a fifth straight week, the longest stretch of declines in a year.
Volatility should be expected to remain high as investors will be closely watching for hints on the upcoming monetary policy direction. Many investors have redoubled their efforts to ensure that their portfolios are sufficiently diversified in the hope that they will be able to withstand corrections in multiple market sectors. Many of these investors have included physical precious metals as part of their diversification plans, given their long history as a hedge against both inflation and during times of economic turmoil. Remember, the key to profitability through the ownership of physical precious metals is to own the physical product and hold it for the long term. Always remember that you should never overextend your ability to maintain ownership of your precious metals over the long run.
Friday to Friday Close (New York Closing Prices)
| Nov. 28, 2025 | Dec. 5, 2025 | Net Change | ||
| Gold | $4,215.72 | $4,217.38 | 1.66 | 0.04% |
| Silver | $56.44 | $58.65 | 2.21 | 3.92% |
| Platinum | $1,687.29 | $1,650.02 | -37.27 | -2.21% |
| Palladium | $1,472.82 | $1,464.37 | -8.45 | -0.57% |
| Dow | 47716.42 | 47954.62 | 238.20 | 0.50% |
Previous Year Comparison
| Dec. 6, 2024 | Dec. 5, 2025 | Net Change | ||
| Gold | $2,635.50 | $4,217.38 | 1581.88 | 60.02% |
| Silver | $31.05 | $58.65 | 27.60 | 88.89% |
| Platinum | $927.50 | $1,650.02 | 722.52 | 77.90% |
| Palladium | $961.75 | $1,464.37 | 502.62 | 52.26% |
| Dow | 44642.52 | 47954.62 | 3312.10 | 7.42% |
Here are your Short-Term Support and Resistance Levels for the upcoming week.
| Gold | Silver | |
| Support | 4176/4103/3975 | 54.22/51.87/48.94 |
| Resistance | 4294/4358/4486 | 58.73/61.06/65.57 |
| Platinum | Palladium | |
| Support | 1621/1566/1458 | 1369/1283/1201 |
| Resistance | 1730/1785/1893 | 1536/1618/1703 |