US Stock Market Outlook: Indices Dip, Margin Hike, Precious Metals Fall, EV Stocks Decline.

US Stock Market Update

On the last trading day of 2025, major US stock index futures experienced slight declines. The Dow futures fell by 0.07%, Nasdaq futures dropped by 0.19%, and S&P 500 futures decreased by 0.12%.

Pre-Market Movements

Star tech stocks showed mixed results in pre-market trading.

• Intel (INTC) rose over 1%
• TSMC (TSM) increased nearly 1%
• NVIDIA (NVDA) and Tesla (TSLA) saw minor gains
• Google-A (GOOGL), Micron Technology (MU), and Amazon (AMZN) experienced slight declines.

Chinese concept stocks mostly fell, with new energy vehicle companies facing a collective pullback:

• Xpeng Motors (XPEV) dropped nearly 4%
• Li Auto (LI) fell over 3%
• NIO (NIO) decreased close to 3%

Precious Metals Market

The precious metals market retreated, with the CME Group raising margin requirements for futures contracts for the second time this week.

• Silver (XAGUSD.FX) fell below the $71 mark, with a daily drop exceeding 6%.
• Other precious metals also declined, including Palladium (2603) and Platinum (2604), both down over 6%.

Pre-market trading for precious metal stocks was generally negative:

• Coeur Mining (CDE) and Pan American Silver (PAAS) fell nearly 3%
• Newmont Corporation (NEM) dropped close to 2%

NVIDIA and TSMC Developments

According to Reuters, NVIDIA is negotiating with TSMC for new H200 chip orders to meet strong customer demand. Currently, NVIDIA has only 700,000 units of the H200 chip in stock, while orders have reached 2 million. TSMC is expected to expand production capacity by Q2 2026.

ByteDance's GPU Purchase Plans

ByteDance plans to invest approximately $14 billion in NVIDIA GPUs by 2026, significantly increasing its budget from 2025. The success of this plan hinges on US government approval for NVIDIA to deliver the more powerful H200 GPUs to Chinese clients.

Tesla's CyberCab Production

Elon Musk confirmed that the production version of the CyberCab will begin in four months, with testing of the production system currently underway. Tesla's stock saw a slight increase in pre-market trading.

Amazon's AI Investment

Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced a plan to invest up to $50 billion to build AI systems for US government agencies, starting in 2026. This initiative aims to enhance AWS's capabilities in AI and high-performance computing.

Warner Bros and Paramount Acquisition Talks

Warner Bros Discovery plans to reject Paramount's revised acquisition offer, as they believe it is inferior to a previous proposal from Netflix. The Warner Bros board is awaiting a better financial offer from Paramount.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Surge

Vanda Pharmaceuticals saw its stock rise over 21% in pre-market trading after the FDA approved its drug for preventing motion sickness-related vomiting.

Society Pass Launches E-commerce Platform

Society Pass surged over 10% in pre-market trading after announcing a partnership with TMGX to launch a live e-commerce digital retail advertising platform in Thailand.

Federal Reserve Meeting Minutes

The minutes from the Federal Reserve's meeting indicated that "most" officials expect further rate cuts if inflation decreases as anticipated. Some members suggested maintaining the current rates for a period.

Citigroup's Market Outlook

Citigroup's Scott Chronert expressed optimism about the market, predicting that technology stocks will lead in the coming year, supported by strong earnings expectations and a potential expansion to lagging sectors.

US Government Approves Chip Equipment Exports

Reports indicate that the US government has granted licenses for Samsung and SK Hynix to export chip manufacturing equipment to China in 2026, easing previous restrictions.

Oil Market Concerns

International oil prices are on track for their worst annual performance since the pandemic, driven by concerns over oversupply. Major institutions predict a significant surplus in the oil market next year.