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The S&P 500 Index ($SPX) (SPY) on Thursday closed up by +0.21%, the Dow Jones Industrials Index ($DOWI) (DIA) closed up by +1.34%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX) (QQQ) closed down by -0.35%.  December E-mini S&P futures (ESZ25) rose +0.23%, and December E-mini Nasdaq futures (NQZ25) fell -0.33%.Stock indexes settled mixed on Thursday, with the S&P 500 posting a 6-week high and the Dow Jones Industrials climbing to a new all-time high. The broader market found underlying support on Thursday after bond yields moved lower amid a jump in weekly jobless claims, which is dovish for Fed policy.  Also, managed healthcare stocks staged a…

Forward Guidance Signals a Slow and Limited Cutting Cycle The language in the post-meeting statement was recycled from December 2024, a period when the Fed paused rate reductions for nine months. That framing suggests the bar for further cuts is high. The latest dot plot reinforced this caution, showing only one projected cut in 2026 and one in 2027, leaving the funds rate near a 3% longer-run level. These projections were unchanged, underscoring reluctance to accelerate easing even as growth estimates shift. Economic Outlook: Inflation Stubborn, Growth Revised Higher Officials upgraded the 2026 GDP outlook to 2.3%, reflecting firmer economic…

US Commodity Futures Trading Commission Acting Chairman Caroline Pham has scrapped “outdated guidance” on the delivery of crypto, which has been applauded for offering exchanges more flexibility.“Eliminating outdated and overly complex guidance that penalizes the crypto industry and stifles innovation is exactly what the Administration has set out to do this year,” Pham said on Thursday.The guidance, originally finalized in March 2020, related to when the “actual delivery” of crypto happened in a commodity transaction, but the CFTC said in a notice that it had to “reevaluate such guidance in light of further developments during the past 5 years.”The CFTC…

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has added a host of blockchain industry executives alongside counterparts from traditional finance as part of the agency’s new CEO Innovation Council. According to an announcement on Wednesday, the CEO Innovation Council will discuss market structure developments relating to the derivatives markets overseen by the CFTC. The discussion topics will primarily be about “tokenization, crypto assets, 24/7 trading, perpetual contracts, prediction markets and blockchain market infrastructure.” The list of participants includes the bosses of crypto exchanges and prediction markets such as Polymarket, Kalshi, Kraken, Gemini, Bitnomial, Crypto.com and Bullish.  Alongside the crypto CEOs, the counterparts from traditional finance…

Wheat posted Wednesday weakness, as futures saw a delayed response to USDA’s added world production from Tuesday. Chicago SRW futures poste losses of a nickel in the front months on the midweek session. KC HRW futures saw losses of 3 to 4 cents on Wednesday. MPLS spring wheat as steady to a penny lower.The weekly Export Sales report will get another catch-up release on Thursday morning. Analysts are looking for between 200,000 to 600,000 MT in sales for the week ending on 11/13. Don’t Miss a Day: From crude oil to coffee, sign up free for Barchart’s best-in-class commodity analysis.…

Key Takeaways Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says Bitcoin converts excess energy into a portable form of money. His comments challenge years of criticism over Bitcoin’s electricity use. Supporters argue the network increasingly relies on stranded and renewable energy sources. For more than a decade, Bitcoin’s critics have pointed to one thing above all else: its energy consumption. But this week, one of the world’s most influential technologists flipped that argument on its head. During a panel on AI and energy, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang described Bitcoin not as an environmental burden but as a mechanism for turning unused electricity into…

Financial-system risks driven by elevated valuations across multiple asset classes and a long-standing expectation of corrections in rising markets; leverage risks in the non-bank financial intermediation sector including in private credit, risks in the less-regulated artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency sectors; higher borrowing rates for longer; and US and global financial deregulation. Protectionist and volatile global trade policies spearheaded by the US but also affecting the policies of other governments. Many governments face intensifying budgetary and public debt challenges, which may facilitate market re-appraisals of sovereign risk. Heightened geopolitical uncertainties, including Russia’s continuing war in Ukraine and fragilities in the Middle…

Shares in Twenty One Capital (XXI), the newest crypto treasury company in the US, slid 20% on its trading debut after merging with the blank-check company Cantor Equity Partners.Twenty One Capital opened trading on Tuesday at $10.74, below the closing price of $14.27 on Monday for Cantor’s special purpose acquisition company that it merged with.The new Bitcoin (BTC)-focused company’s stock closed trading on Wednesday at $11.42, down 19.97% over 24 hours. However, it later saw a slight 2.2% lift after-hours to $11.67, giving it a market capitalization of around $4 billion based on its outstanding shares.Twenty One was among the most…

March arabica coffee (KCH26) on Tuesday closed up +2.55 (+0.70%), and January ICE robusta coffee (RMF26) closed up +10 (+0.24%).Coffee prices rose on Tuesday, recovering some of Monday’s sharp losses.  Below-normal precipitation in Brazil is supportive of coffee prices.  Somar Meteorologia reported Monday that Brazil’s largest arabica coffee-growing area, Minas Gerais, received 11 mm of rain during the week ended December 5, or 17% of the historical average.   Don’t Miss a Day: From crude oil to coffee, sign up free for Barchart’s best-in-class commodity analysis.  Coffee prices fell back from their best levels on Tuesday after the Brazilian real…

Key Takeaways Crypto investment products logged their second straight week of inflows, totaling $716 million. Bitcoin products attracted more than $350 million, while short-Bitcoin vehicles saw record outflows. XRP led all altcoin ETPs with $245 million in inflows—its strongest week of the year. After watching billions exit the market through most of November, institutional sentiment toward digital assets finally appears to be turning. Last week, crypto investment products posted $716 million in inflows, marking the second consecutive week of renewed demand and lifting total assets under management to $180 billion. While still far below the $264 billion peak set earlier…