Today’s Outlook:

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average erased earlier losses and squeezed out a small gain in thin trading Thursday after the market’s strong back-to-back gains at the start of the holiday week. The blue-chip Dow closed the day 28.77 points, or 0.07%, higher to 43,325.80 after losing about 182 points earlier in the session. The S&P 500 dipped just 2.45 points, or 0.04%, to 6,037.59. The Nasdaq Composite also ended the day slightly lower, declining less than 0.1% to 20,020.36. The market was closed on Wednesday for Christmas Day. Thursday’s action came after a solid Christmas Eve for the S&P 500. The benchmark’s 1.1% gain on Tuesday marked its best Christmas Eve performance since 1974, according to Bespoke. So far this week, the S&P 500 is up 1.8%, while the Dow has gained 1.1%. The strong rally in megacap tech earlier in the week lifted the Nasdaq 2.3% week to date.

• MARKET SENTIMENT: December US Crude Oil Inventories

• CURRENCY & FIXED INCOME: The dollar index was last up 0.02% at 108.13. It is holding just below a two-year high of 108.54 reached on Friday. The U.S. dollar hit a five-month high against the Japanese yen on Thursday on expectations the greenback would be boosted next year by policies by the incoming Donald Trump administration that are expected to boost growth and lift inflation. Trading volumes were light on Thursday with many traders on holiday after Wednesday’s Christmas holiday and before next week’s New Year holiday. Looser business regulations and tax cuts are expected to help propel U.S. growth next year while analysts say that a clamp-down on illegal immigration and the prospect of new tariffs on trading partners could increase price pressures, and weigh on the economy longer term. Treasury yields traded near the flatline Thursday morning as investors digested new data on weekly jobless claims. The yield on the 10-year Treasury turned flat at 4.581% after jumping 5 basis points above the 4.6% level. The 2-year Treasury traded 1 basis points lower at 4.329%. One basis point is equal to 0.01%. Yields move inversely to prices.

– The greenback gained 0.35% to 157.93 Japanese yen and earlier reached 158.09, the highest since July 17. The Japanese yen has suffered from the wide interest rate differential between the United States and Japan.

• ASIA MARKETS: Asia-Pacific stocks were mostly up Thursday, with several markets remaining closed for Boxing Day. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.12% to close at 8,220.9 while the Topix added 1.20% to close at 2,766.78, a day after a report said the country was preparing a record $735 billion budget for its fiscal year starting in April. The budget will account for increased social security and debt-servicing expenses, a draft reviewed by Reuters revealed. South Korea’s Kospi slid 0.44% to close at 2,429.67 while the Kosdaq lost 0.66% to close at 675.64. The country’s main opposition Democratic Party has submitted a bill to impeach acting President Han Duck soo, with voting on it due Friday, according to news agency Yonhap.

• EUROPE MARKET : European markets closed higher on Tuesday, in a shortened trading day for Christmas Eve. The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally ended the session around 0.2% higher. Tech stocks were among those leading the gains, following a strong trading session on Monday for U.S.-listed technology shares. London’s FTSE 100 and the French CAC 40 index both ended the session in positive territory, with sectors across the board seeing gains ahead of the Christmas  shutdown.

– The euro rose 0.13% to $1.0418. The single currency fell to $1.03435 on Friday, the lowest since Nov. 22. .

• COMMODITIES: Oil edged lower on Thursday in light holiday trade as the dollar’s strength offset hopes for additional fiscal stimulus in China, the world’s biggest oil importer. Brent crude futures settled down 32 cents, or 0.43%, at $73.26 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude closed at $69.62, down 0.68%, or 48 cents, from Tuesday’s pre-Christmas settlement. Chinese authorities have agreed to issue 3 trillion yuan ($411 billion) worth of special treasury bonds next year, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing two sources, as Beijing ramps up fiscal stimulus to revive a faltering economy.

– Spot gold rose 0.8% to $2,634.39 per ounce. U.S. gold futures added 0.7% to $2,654.60. Gold prices rose on Thursday, driven by safehaven demand amid light trading volumes following the Christmas holiday, as markets await signals regarding the U.S. economy under the incoming Trump administration and Federal Reserve’s rate strategy for 2025.

• JCI corrected 46.78 (-0.43%) after a bullish runaway gap to close the previous exhaustion gap on Thursday last week following an extensive bearish downtrend. Foreign funds were still consistently selling net sales worth IDR 230.17 billion on Tuesday before the Christmas holiday, while their YTD position was also Net Selling IDR 28.68 trillion (RG MARKET). NHKSI RESEARCH recommends investors/traders to SPECULATIVELY BUY stocks that have been in a strong bearish sentiment last week. RUPIAH exchange rate is entrenched at IDR 16,100-16,350/USD, considering current sentiments, limited upside potential for Rupiah “strengthening” towards 16,100 -16,000 at the end of this year.

Company News

• PTRO: Petrosea (PTRO) Plans Stock Split, New Price Effective January 2025
• LABA: Green Power to Prepare IDR 150M Rights Issue in 2025
• UNVR: Unilever Holds EGM in Early 2025, Discuss Ice Cream Business & Reshuffle Board of Directors

Domestic & Global News
Entrepreneurs Reveal the Effect of Nickel Production Restrictions on Smelter Businesses
China Seeks 5% Economic Growth in the Year of the Wood Snake 2025

Download full report HERE.