U.S. stock markets experienced declines as inflation concerns escalated following a significant increase in the ISM services index, which rose to 64.4% in December from 58.2% in November. This surge, linked to potential impacts from port strikes and tariffs, heightened investor apprehension about rising inflation. Consequently, the 10-year Treasury yield reached its highest level since April at 4.699%, diminishing expectations for interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 fell by 1.11%, the Dow Jones by 0.42%, and the Nasdaq by 1.89%, largely due to a drop in technology stocks like Nvidia, which decreased by 6.2%.
In other news, Meta announced the discontinuation of its third-party fact-checking program to “restore free expression,” receiving pushback from employees. The AI startup Anthropic is reportedly in discussions to raise up to $2 billion at a valuation of $60 billion, backed by investors including Amazon. Portfolio manager Kunal Desai suggested that India’s position might improve under President-elect Trump’s potential tariffs on China. Meanwhile, Oaktree Capital’s Howard Marks identified cautionary signs in the stock market, urging investors to stay vigilant amid shifting inflation expectations.
