Bitcoin crashes to $85,000 yet again, for absolutely no logical reason

Gold pulled back a bit on Monday but stayed close to a fresh record, trading around $4,300, less than $100 below its October peak.

Silver also crept toward its own record above $64, extending a run that has turned precious metals into one of the wildest spots in the market. Both metals have climbed since the Federal Reserve delivered its third rate cut of the year last week and signaled looser policy ahead.

President Donald Trump has made it clear he wants a new Fed Chair once Jerome Powell’s term ends in May, with candidates like Kevin Hassett and Kevin Warsh on the shortlist.

Expectations for lower rates kept pressure on the US dollar index, which in turn boosted dollar-priced commodities.

Twelve S&P 500 names printed new all-time highs on Monday. General Motors hit levels last seen after its 2010 IPO, Ralph Lauren climbed to its highest point since its 1997 debut, and Tapestry reached highs going back to the Coach IPO in 2000.

Walmart traded at its strongest level since it first listed in 1972. Assurant hit a new peak dating back to its 2004 IPO. Bank of America reached its highest level since the 1998 NationsBank merger, while Chubb hit highs through records stretching to 1993.

JPMorgan printed levels unseen since its 1983 IPO, and Wells Fargo hit highs going back to 1968. Johnson & Johnson traded at record levels last reached after its 1944 NYSE listing.

Delta Air Lines hit peaks from its 2007 IPO, and Raytheon Technologies climbed to highs tied to the United Technologies name change in 1975.

Only six benchmark names hit fresh 52-week lows: Trade Desk, Costco, Texas Pacific Land, Motorola Solutions, Tyler Technologies, and CoStar Group.

Citigroup set a 7,700 year-end target for the S&P 500 in 2026, leaning on solid corporate earnings and ongoing support from AI spending.

The call, published Friday, argues that AI infrastructure will stay a major theme but says attention in 2026 shifts from companies that enable AI to the firms that use it.

Citi’s strategists said the market will move toward a clear “winner versus loser” setup as adoption spreads. The target implies a 12.7% jump from the benchmark’s last close at 6827.41, and the team expects index earnings to reach $320 per share next year, above the roughly $310 consensus.

The index has climbed about 16% this year on enthusiasm around AI, strong profits, and hopes for lower rates, even as investors debate whether valuations are running too hot.

Citi said the expensive starting point is a challenge but “not an insurmountable one,” adding that fundamentals now have to carry more weight.

With the bull market entering its fourth year, Citi warned that volatility spells should be expected, especially with growth expectations already baked in. The bank sees 8,300 in a bull case and 5,700 in a bear scenario.

The 7,700 target lines up with UBS Global Wealth Management’s call from November and lands below Oppenheimer’s Street-high 8,100 forecast, while a November Reuters poll pointed to roughly a 12% rise next year.

Shares of Juventus ripped almost 19% higher on Monday after the Agnelli family rejected a surprise takeover offer from Tether that valued the Serie A club at 1.1 billion euros.

Football Benchmark’s 2025 Valuation Report puts the equity value closer to 1.3 billion euros, which instantly fueled speculation that a sweeter bid could show up next. Juventus, despite owning 36 Serie A titles, has slipped since its ninth straight championship in 2020 and now sits fifth in the league table.

The stock has dropped 57% over the past five years based on LSEG data, a long slide for a club once associated with stars like Michel Platini, Roberto Baggio, Alessandro Del Piero, and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ownership of Juventus also helped the Agnellis, founders of Fiat, maintain political and cultural influence for decades.

The timing of Tether’s offer adds more pressure on the family. They are in talks to sell media group GEDI, which publishes La Repubblica and La Stampa, triggering strikes and concern over layoffs.

Their main industrial asset, Stellantis, has also been a flashpoint in their relationship with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, especially after the automaker announced a plan last year to increase production in Italy.

Tether’s proposal included commitments to invest in the club, and with a 21% premium to Friday’s close, the bid pushed Juventus shares to their highest level since mid-November.

But Exor, the family’s holding company, said it has no plans to sell its stake. Tether’s USDT continues to dominate the dollar-linked stablecoin market with about 56% share, according to the Bank of Italy.

The S&P 500 struggled through Monday’s session as pressure on the big artificial-intelligence names kept building.

The index slipped 0.3% after opening higher, while the Dow fell 130 points and the Nasdaq dropped 0.5%, showing how quickly sentiment flipped once the tech heavyweights started sliding.

Broadcom and Oracle led the weakness again, with Broadcom down about 5% and Oracle losing more than 2%. Microsoft also traded lower, adding to the weight on the Nasdaq.

JPMorgan’s credit analyst Erica Spear said she expects more strain on Oracle’s bonds heading into next year.

Oracle’s stock just posted its biggest drop in almost 11 months, and its credit-risk gauge hit a 16-year high after earnings showed cloud revenue missing analyst estimates, even as the company lifted its annual capex target by $15 billion and more than doubled future lease commitments.

Spear called the report underwhelming at a time when investors needed reassurance. She pointed to the softer top-line number, the jump in FY26 spending, and the unclear economics of the AI business, saying it leaves Oracle as a “show me story.”

She also noted that management plans to keep funding growth almost entirely through debt, which she argued adds frustration given the unknown payoff timeline.

Moody’s kept a Baa2 rating and negative outlook on Friday and highlighted Oracle’s growing contract backlog, but analysts including Matthew Jones said the counterparty risk, spending load, and commitments tied to that growth remain major credit concerns.