Stocks Set For A Weak Open, Gold Hits Record Highs, Bitcoin Soars Past $40,000

As the first week of December kicked off, U.S. stock futures are set to open on a weaker note after enjoying substantial gains both the prior Friday and throughout November. Investors continue to assess the outlook for monetary policy following Fed Chair Jerome Powell‘s remarks on Friday.

Powell indicated the Fed’s readiness to tighten policy further if deemed necessary. However, he also underscored that current interest rates are firmly in restrictive territory, which is contributing to the slowdown in inflation.

The U.S. dollar saw a modest uptick on Monday, and Treasury yields were also on the rise.

The resurgence of intense clashes in Gaza between Israel and Hamas has reintroduced geopolitical tensions back into the market arena. The price of gold surged above $2,100 per ounce overnight before retreating to $2,070 per ounce, marking new all-time highs.

Bitcoin BTC/USD experienced a gain of over 4%, reaching $42,000, its highest level in over a year, amid increasing speculation about the approval of a Bitcoin ETF.

Crude oil prices fell below the $74 per barrel threshold, primarily due to uncertainties surrounding OPEC+ voluntary output cuts and a weakening global demand outlook.

Index	Performance (+/-)	Value
Nasdaq Composite	-0.77%	15,874.87
S&P 500 Index	-0.68%	4,568.10
Dow Industrials	-0.41%	36,096.12
Russell 2000	+0.08%	1,865.72

In premarket trading on Friday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY edged down 0.54% to $456.60 and the Invesco QQQ ETF QQQ fell 0.71% to $387.19, according to Benzinga Pro data.

The CBOE Volatility Index is trading higher by 6%, after hitting yearly lows on Friday.

Upcoming Economic Data:

The U.S. Census Bureau is set to release factory orders data for the month of October. Analysts anticipate a 2.8% decrease, which follows a 2.8% increase seen in September.

The Treasury is scheduled to conduct auctions for 3-month and 6-month bills.

Stocks In Focus:

• Coinbase Inc. COIN is up over 8% in the premarket trading, on the heels of the Bitcoin’s rally.
• Uber Technologies Inc. UBER is up 4.2% after being added to the S&P 500.
• Spotify Technology SPOT is up over 6%, as the company announced to lay off about 17% of its workforce.
• Science Applications International Corp. SAIC rose nearly 8% after the company lifted its earnings outlook.
• Alaska Air Group Inc. ALK tumbled over 12%, after the company announced to acquire Hawaiian Airlines parent company Hawaiian Holdings HA for $1.9 billion. Shares of Hawaiian Holdings are up 180%.

Read now: Bitcoin Crosses The $40K Threshold — Ethereum, Dogecoin Spike Too: FUD, FOMO To Dictate Whether $50K Arrives ‘Sooner Rather Than Later,’ Says Market Intelligence Platform

Photo: Shutterstock