[Today's Market Preview] Gold and silver hit new highs again! Copper prices approach $12,000

Investment Insights - Here are today's five major financial events: Three major stock index futures rise, gold concept stocks generally increase! Before the opening of the U.S. stock market on December 22, the three major stock index futures rose. As of 4:52 PM Eastern Time, the Dow Jones index futures rose by 0.07%, the S&P 500 index futures rose by 0.30%, and the Nasdaq 100 index futures rose by 0.47%. Popular stocks generally rose, with NVIDIA (NVDA) up 1.08% and Tesla (TSLA) up 1.45%. Gold concept stocks generally rose, with Harmony Gold Mining (HMY) up 4.40% in pre-market trading. Rising demand for safe-haven assets, gold prices break through $4,400 Due to the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Iran, along with the U.S. blockade of Venezuela, market risk aversion has increased, driving gold and silver prices to reach historical highs. As of the time of writing, gold rose by 1.72%, priced at $4,413 per ounce. Silver rose by 3%, priced at $69 per ounce, both reaching historical highs. Copper prices approach $12,000, setting a historical high Boosted by supply shortages and expectations of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, London copper rose to $11,992 per ton, setting a historical high. From the beginning of 2025 to now, copper prices have cumulatively risen by 36%. Citigroup believes that due to U.S. stockpiling causing supply shortages in other regions, copper prices will reach an average of $13,000 per ton in the second quarter of 2026. Japan's verbal intervention escalates, watch for yen fluctuations Due to the Bank of Japan's dovish interest rate hike, the USD/JPY rose significantly by 1.5% last Friday, approaching the 158 mark, and has since retreated. Japan's top foreign exchange official has issued a warning regarding recent trends in the foreign exchange market. JP Morgan stated that if the yen depreciates beyond 160 in a short period, it will be seen as a sharp currency fluctuation, and the likelihood of the Japanese government taking intervention measures is very high. U.S. GDP data released, global markets enter "Christmas mode" [Weekly Outlook] On December 23, the U.S. will announce the revised real GDP for the third quarter. On December 25, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda will give a speech. On December 26, Japan will announce the Tokyo CPI for December. December 25 is Christmas, and the U.S. stock market, Hong Kong stock market, European stock market, and Taiwan stock market will be closed. The market bets on the "Christmas rally," where U.S. stocks often rise during the last five trading days of December and the first two trading days of January the following year