On December 23, global markets tried to absorb a mix of war news from Ukraine, record peaks in precious metals, and another strong reading on the U.S. economy, leaving major equity benchmarks slightly higher.
On the diplomatic front, Ukraine confirmed that its forces have withdrawn from the eastern town of Siversk after weeks of heavy fighting, a shift that brings the front line closer to Sloviansk and underlines how exposed the industrial belt of the Donbas has become almost 4 years into the war.
Diplomacy is moving in parallel, as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is briefed on talks in Miami, where Ukrainian negotiators met envoys of U.S. President Donald Trump to work through draft documents on future security guarantees, reconstruction financing, and a basic framework to end the conflict.
Kyiv is trying to stay engaged in this process without accepting terms that many Ukrainians view as overly favorable to Moscow, including demands for additional territory and limits on its military, and markets are watching whether these talks edge toward a ceasefire or simply freeze the war along a new line of control.
On the economic front, the focus stayed on what has been the largest easing push by major central banks in more than a decade, with 9 of the 10 authorities overseeing the most traded currencies cutting rates in 2025 and delivering about 32 reductions that add up to roughly 850 basis points of global easing, a sharp reversal from the tightening of 2022 and 2023 that followed Russia’s invasion and the jump in energy prices, according to a Reuters report.
Japan, however, was the exception, raising rates twice this year, although officials there have signaled that any further moves are likely to be slow.
Fresh U.S. numbers added to the picture of an economy that is still firm but increasingly uneven, with Q3 gross domestic product reported at an annualized 4.3% versus a consensus forecast of 3.3%, driven by strong consumer spending and healthcare outlays.
Rate futures now point to the Federal Reserve holding policy steady at its Jan meeting, with the next cut expected around June and only 2 moves of 25 basis points, with each priced in for 2026.
Markets reflected this blend of war anxiety, policy easing, and solid but uneven data, as U.S. stocks saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq Composite all edge up by about 0.1%, keeping Wall Street close to record territory. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 gained around 0.4% and briefly touched a record as healthcare names rallied after Novo Nordisk secured U.S. approval for an oral weight loss pill.
In London, the FTSE 100 rose about 0.3%, supported by banks and major miners, as copper prices moved above $12,000 per tonne. Japan’s Nikkei was little changed, and China’s CSI300 inched higher after Beijing reiterated support for urban renewal and a more stable property market in 2026.
Government bond yields also firmed, with the 10-year U.S. Treasury trading near 4.20% and core European yields edging higher in tandem, while the dollar index in foreign exchange slipped to just under 98.
Commodity markets showed some of the sharpest moves, with silver extending its record run and jumping about 3% to $71.06 per ounce, leaving it up roughly 145% in 2025 as investors combined safe haven demand with expectations of a weaker dollar and lower real yields, while gold rose 0.8% to around $4,478 per ounce after hitting a record $4,497.55 and is now up close to 70% this year, supported by central bank buying and persistent geopolitical stress.
Oil was comparatively calm, with U.S. crude trading around $57.9 per barrel and Brent near $61.9, both slightly lower on the day and showing no immediate sign of stress from the latest Venezuela headlines.
In digital assets, trading was more active as Bitcoin held around $88,000, Ethereum hovered just below $3,000, Binance Coin traded near $845, and Solana drifted near $124.
The overall crypto market was valued at roughly $2.97 trillion, with Bitcoin accounting for just over 59% of that total and Ethereum about 12%, leaving altcoins fighting over the remaining share as traders debated whether this year’s rally in the major coins still has room to run or is instead slipping into a consolidation phase.
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