Chip Makers and Energy Producers Lead Stock Indexes Higher

Economic Indicators - The December S&P manufacturing PMI is expected to remain unchanged at 52.9 [1] - The December ADP employment change is projected to increase by 48,000 [1] - The December ISM services index is anticipated to decline by 0.3 to 52.3 [1] - November JOLTS job openings are expected to rise by 9,000 to 7.679 million [1] - October factory orders are forecasted to decrease by 1.1% month-over-month [1] - Q3 nonfarm productivity is expected to increase by 4.7%, while unit labor costs are projected to rise by 0.3% [1] - Initial weekly unemployment claims are expected to increase by 12,000 to 211,000 [1] - December nonfarm payrolls are expected to rise by 59,000, with the unemployment rate projected to decrease by 0.1 to 4.5% [1] - December average hourly earnings are expected to increase by 0.3% month-over-month and 3.6% year-over-year [1] - October housing starts are expected to rise by 1.4% month-over-month to 1.325 million, and building permits are expected to increase by 1.1% month-over-month to 1.350 million [1] - The University of Michigan's January consumer sentiment index is expected to rise by 0.6 points to 53.5 [1] Stock Market Movements - The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a new all-time high, driven by optimism in AI spending, particularly benefiting chipmakers and data storage companies [5] - Energy companies are rallying following President Trump's comments regarding Venezuela, with Valero Energy up more than 11% [11] - Mining stocks are also rising, with gold prices up more than 3% and silver up more than 7% [5][12] - Cryptocurrency-exposed stocks are climbing, with Bitcoin up more than 4% [13] Federal Reserve Comments - Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari's comments were slightly hawkish, suggesting US interest rates may be "close to neutral" for the economy [2] - Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson's dovish comments indicated potential for modest adjustments to the funds rate later in the year if inflation moderates [3] International Market Performance - European stocks are providing support to US equity markets, with the Euro Stoxx 50 reaching a new record high [4][7] - Overseas stock markets are generally moving higher, with significant gains in China's Shanghai Composite and Japan's Nikkei Stock 225 [7]