Equity Indexes Recover Early Losses as Precious Metals Reach New Record Highs

Economic Indicators - December CPI is expected to remain unchanged from November at +2.7% year-over-year, while December core CPI is anticipated to rise to +2.7% from +2.6% in November [1] - October new home sales are projected to decline by -10.6% month-over-month to 715,000 [1] - November PPI final demand is expected to increase by +2.7% year-over-year, with core PPI also expected to climb by +2.7% [1] - November retail sales are anticipated to increase by +0.5% month-over-month, and +0.4% month-over-month excluding autos [1] - December existing home sales are expected to rise by +2.2% month-over-month to 4.22 million [1] - Weekly initial unemployment claims are expected to increase by +7,000 to 215,000 [1] - January Empire manufacturing survey is expected to rise by +4.9 to 1.0 [1] - December manufacturing production is expected to fall by -0.1% month-over-month [1] - January NAHB housing market index is expected to increase by +1 to 40 [1] Federal Reserve and Market Reactions - Fed Chair Powell stated that the Federal Reserve received grand jury subpoenas from the Justice Department, which could lead to a criminal indictment related to his June testimony [2] - Concerns about Fed independence have increased due to the Trump administration's criticism, leading to a "Sell America" sentiment in US asset markets [3] - The markets are currently discounting a 5% chance of a -25 basis point rate cut at the next FOMC meeting [4] Stock Market Movements - Stock indexes opened lower but rose in the afternoon, with the S&P 500 up +0.28%, Dow Jones up +0.15%, and Nasdaq 100 up +0.55% [3] - Credit card companies and bank stocks are declining, with Synchrony Financial down more than -7%, Capital One down more than -6%, and American Express down more than -4% following President Trump's comments on interest rate caps [9] - Mining stocks are rising as gold and silver prices reach new all-time highs, with Hecla Mining up more than +8% and Coeur Mining up more than +6% [9] Company-Specific Updates - Alnylam Pharmaceuticals reported preliminary Q4 sales of Amvuttra at $827 million, below the consensus of $848.5 million, leading to a decline of more than -10% in its stock [9] - Henry Schein is down more than -2% after announcing a new CEO [10] - UnitedHealth Group is down more than -1% following a Senate committee investigation into its practices [11] - Dexcom reported Q3 preliminary revenue of $1.26 billion, exceeding the consensus of $1.24 billion, leading to a stock increase of more than +5% [12] - Walmart is up more than +2% as it will replace AstraZeneca in the Nasdaq 100 Index starting January 20 [13]