- Monday saw treasuries decline and gold drop from session highs as markets softened some of the swings from Friday that went against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's reassurance that policymakers are not in a rush to lower interest rates.
- Treasury bond yields increased across all tenors, with the benchmark 10-year bond trading at about 4.25%. Even after Powell stated the Fed is prepared to rise further if necessary and that policy is "well into restrictive territory," US government bonds had rallied on Friday as swaps priced in a cut by May.
- Gold, on course for a record close, dropped from earlier intraday highs, currently trading at $2,085.34 an ounce. As fresh exchange-traded fund approvals are expected in the US, bitcoin continued its multi-month ascent, rising nearly 3% to its highest level since April 2022. Asian stock markets saw mixed results, with Australian and Korean equities rising and Japanese stocks declining. Futures for the S&P 500 were stable.
- Fundstrat's chief of research Tom Lee stated in a letter on Sunday that "we are in a zone of uncertainty" due to the abundance of economic data that would be released before the Fed's policy meeting the following week. He continued, saying, "Markets may be consolidating, but we think dip buying prevails and December is an up month" for US stocks.
