The stock market faced a notable downturn on Tuesday, as all three major indices concluded the day in the redThis marks the fourth consecutive day of decline for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). Although the Nasdaq Composite Index reached an intraday peak of 19,887.08 points, setting a new milestone, it ultimately could not maintain this upward momentum, reflecting a broader market trend.

By the end of the trading day, the Dow fell by 154.10 points, a decrease of 0.35%, finishing at 44,247.83. Similarly, the Nasdaq dropped 49.45 points or 0.25%, settling at 19,687.24. The S&P 500 Index also experienced a dip, down by 17.94 points, or 0.30%, closing at 6,034.91. Amidst this downturn, several stocks in the tech sector exhibited contrasting trendsFor instance, Google (GOOG.US, GOOGL.US) saw a rise of over 5%, while Walgreens (WBA.US) surged beyond 17.7%. Meanwhile, Tesla (TSLA.US) climbed by 2.87%, Meta Platforms (META.US) increased over 0.9%, and Apple (AAPL.US) achieved a record close with an increment surpassing 0.4%. On the downside, Amazon (AMZN.US) dipped more than 0.4%, Microsoft (MSFT.US) decreased by 0.6%, Nvidia (NVDA.US) fell by 2.69%, and Oracle (ORCL.US) plummeted over 6.6%.

Across the Atlantic, European markets demonstrated mixed results

The German DAX 30 Index witnessed a slight increase of 12.55 points or 0.06%, closing at 20,366.65. Conversely, the UK's FTSE 100 dropped sharply, losing 74.48 points or 0.89%, to finish at 8,277.60. The French CAC 40 Index also declined by 85.36 points or 1.14%, landing at 7,394.78. Other European indices followed suit, with the Euro Stoxx 50 dropping 33.91 points or 0.68%, settling at 4,951.55, and Spain's IBEX 35 losing 48.58 points or 0.40%, closing at 11,962.92. Italy's FTSE MIB Index remained relatively stable, down only slightly by 33.83 points or 0.10%, finishing at 34,526.00.

In the Asia-Pacific markets, there were some positive movements as wellThe Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.53%, while Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index gained 0.21%. Notably, South Korea's KOSPI Index surged significantly, climbing by 2.4%!

Shifting attention to the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin faced a setback, slipping below the $95,000 mark after a minor dip of 0.68%. Although Bitcoin briefly touched a historic peak of $103,000 following the Trump administration's nomination of Paul Atkins, a pro-cryptocurrency candidate, as SEC chairman, it struggled to maintain such momentum amid market volatility

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According to Trade Nation's analyst David Morrison, Bitcoin's reattempt at breaching the $100,000 level was short-lived, as it plummeted shortly after the U.Smarket opened, paralleling the broader sell-off.

In terms of commodities, gold exhibited a positive trend, with spot prices rising by 1.27% to reach $2,694.10 per ounce, while COMEX futures for gold increased by 1.28%, closing at $2,720.00 per ounceOn the other hand, crude oil saw a slight uptick, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures for January delivery climbing by 22 cents or 0.32%, settling at $68.59 per barrel.

Metals presented a mixed picture on the London Metal Exchange (LME). Copper futures fell by $16 to close at $9,216 per tonHowever, aluminum futures rose by $20 to settle at $2,608 per ton, and zinc futures gained $9, closing at $3,135 per tonContrastingly, lead futures dropped by $3 to finish at $2,064 per ton, while nickel futures saw a more substantial decline of $281, closing at $15,715 per ton

Tin futures dropped by $142, resting at $29,776 per ton, with cobalt prices remaining stable at $24,300 per ton.

On the macroeconomic front, the U.SBureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently faced scrutiny over a series of mistakes leading to the removal of key outsourcing positionsAs new inflation data looms for November, an internal report revealed that the BLS leadership was held accountable for various blunders this year, warranting increased scrutinyNotably, there was no correlation found between these errors and the quality or accuracy of core data workThe report emphasized the absence of any fraudulent or malicious intentIn recent weeks, the BLS has been under fire for premature CPI leaks and delays in releasing critical employment dataIt was discovered that the agency's modernization efforts were hampered by insufficient funding, impeding its ability to keep pace with technological advancements

The investigative team suggested a re-evaluation of training programs for frontline staff and revisions to contingency plans to mitigate the risk of untimely data releasesConsequently, the BLS has removed contractors from essential positions, with federal employees now solely tasked with these responsibilities.

Moreover, the U.Shas seen a consecutive reduction in the auction sizes of both 4-week and 8-week Treasury billsOn December 10, the government announced a cut in the auction size for the shortest-term benchmark Treasury securitiesPlans to issue $80 billion in 4-week Treasury bills were adjusted downward, with a $5 billion reduction compared to previous auctionsNotably, the auction size for 8-week Treasury bills was also decreased by $5 billion, maintaining a steady size of $64 billion for the 17-week Treasury bill auction planned for WednesdayThis measured approach reflects the government's stance to maintain the size of benchmark Treasury auctions through November while making moderate reductions to short-term bills in December.

Looking ahead, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected a substantial decline in U.S

net crude oil imports by 20% for the year 2025, dropping to 1.9 million barrels per day, the lowest levels since 1971. This suggests an uptick in domestic production alongside a decrease in refinery demandAs outlined in the EIA's December Short-Term Energy Outlook, U.Soil production is expected to rise from 13.24 million barrels per day in 2024 to 13.52 million barrels per day in 2025. Additionally, refinery crude processing is anticipated to average 16 million barrels per day, reflecting a reduction of 200,000 barrels per day compared to 2024. Moreover, the EIA now estimates the average spot price for Brent crude oil in 2025 to be $73.58 per barrel, slightly lower than previous forecasts.

In corporate news, Boeing (BA.US) has recommenced operations on its 737 production line following a 53-day strike, despite reporting its lowest delivery levels in four years for NovemberWhile the company’s stock rose by 5.9% during trading, it stabilized at a 4.7% gain by the closing bell