On January 3, 2025, U.Sstock markets experienced a notable surge, with all three major indices posting gainsThe technology-heavy Nasdaq increased by 1.77%, the S&P 500 rose by 1.26%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 339.86 points, marking a 0.8% increaseThis upbeat performance ended the Nasdaq and S&P 500’s streak of five consecutive daily declines, while the Dow managed to break free from its four-day slump.

Meanwhile, in the realm of Chinese assets, the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index saw a rise of 0.93%. Among individual stocks, Dingdong Maicai surged over 10%, Kingsoft Cloud gained more than 5%, and Zeekr and JD.com saw increases of over 4% and 3%, respectivelyHowever, not all stocks fared well; Century Internet fell over 2%, and Tencent Music dropped more than 1%.

In the commodities market, international oil futures closed higher with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for February delivery up by 0.83 dollars, concluding at 73.96 dollars per barrel, a rise of 1.13%. Brent crude for March delivery also made gains, increasing by 0.58 dollars, finishing at 76.51 dollars per barrel

In contrast, natural gas futures for February dropped significantly, falling 8.36% to settle at 3.354 dollars per million British thermal units.

Among the standout performances in the technology sector, Tesla’s shares skyrocketed by over 8%, adding 100 billion dollars to its market capitalization overnight, the largest one-day increase since November 12 of the previous yearSimilarly, Nvidia’s stocks climbed more than 4%, boosting its market value by 150.9 billion dollars, the biggest single-day rise since November 20.

Other tech giants also saw positive movements; Microsoft, Google, Intel, and Amazon all recorded increases of over 1%, while Meta experienced a modest uptickConversely, Apple and Netflix saw slight decreases in their stock prices.

In a significant announcement, Microsoft declared on January 3 that it plans to invest 80 billion dollars into AI data centers for the fiscal year 2025, aimed at developing facilities specifically designed to handle AI workloads

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Brad Smith, Microsoft’s Vice Chairman and President, revealed in a blog post that over half of this investment will be allocated to the U.SThis fiscal year is set to conclude in June next year.

The race for enhanced computational capabilities is intensifying among large cloud infrastructure providers like Microsoft and Amazon, as they compete to invest billions into acquiring Nvidia chips to facilitate the training and operation of AI models, alongside constructing new data centers to meet surging demand.

Another notable development in the tech sector is the impressive surge in Cerence's stock price, which skyrocketed by 143.76%. This increase followed Cerence's announcement of an expanded partnership with Nvidia aimed at enhancing the performance of its in-car language modelsThrough this collaboration, the focus will be on leveraging Nvidia's technologies to improve the response and stability of Cerence's existing language models, ultimately leading to more efficient in-vehicle voice assistance services.

In relation to the housing finance sector, a fresh statement from the U.S

Treasury Department spurred a surge in the stock prices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, with Fannie Mae up over 28%, reaching its highest level since December 2016, and Freddie Mac rising nearly 30%, marking its highest point since February 2017.

This boost can be traced back to new guidelines issued on January 2, which restored the Treasury’s final approval authority over the exit strategy for these two government-sponsored enterprisesMoving forward, any plans by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to exit government conservatorship will require prior review and approval from the Treasury.

Internationally, the landscape took a turn when Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel announced plans to sue the U.Sgovernment following its decision to block Nippon's acquisition of U.SSteelThe White House confirmed on January 3 that the formal intervention was aimed at preventing a foreign entity from controlling a key American company.

If the acquisition were to go through, it would place one of America's largest steel producers under foreign ownership, which could pose risks to national security and critical supply chains

U.SSteel, established in 1901 and based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been pivotal in supplying steel for American infrastructure projects, including bridges and buildings, as well as during World War II for the navy fleetIts historical significance in the industrialization of the United States makes it one of the traditional pillars of American manufacturing.

However, recent years have not been kind to U.SSteel, which has reported continuous losses, with both production levels and market capitalization lagging behind peers in the same industry, leading to its decision to seek a saleNippon Steel's acquisition attempt, announced in 2023, faced considerable pushback from U.SpoliticiansWarnings from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States highlighted the potential risks associated with allowing foreign control over U.Ssteel production capabilities, raising alarms about national security implications.

Critics have commented that the U.S