Pound Sterling slightly weakened to 1.3500 against the US Dollar in subdued pre-Christmas trading. The S&P 500 is expected to see growth in 2026, influenced by Trump’s economic policies. Silver rises for a fourth consecutive day due to hopes of Federal Reserve easing and its safe-haven status.<\/p>\n
EUR\/USD remains below 1.1800, with limited directional movement as US markets operate with reduced hours on Christmas Eve. Bitcoin fell below $87,000 due to intensifying ETF outflows and decreased participation from large holders.<\/p>\n
2026 economic prospects look strong, with continuing supportive factors from 2025 likely to contribute to improved performance. Avalanche struggles near $12 while Grayscale files an updated form to convert its Trust into an ETF.<\/p>\n
We are seeing classic holiday-thinned markets, but the dominant theme for the coming weeks is clear Federal Reserve easing expectations. This is keeping the US Dollar weak, as seen with the US Dollar Index (DXY) falling nearly 8% since its mid-2025 peak. Derivative traders should anticipate this dollar weakness to persist as we move into the new year, creating opportunities in currencies like the Canadian Dollar.<\/p>\n
Gold has pulled back from its all-time high above $4,520, but this seems like temporary profit-taking rather than a change in trend. We’ve seen central bank gold purchases hit a record of over 1,200 tonnes in 2025, providing a solid floor under the price. Using options to gain exposure to further upside in precious metals, or to protect long positions, appears prudent given the high price level.<\/p>\n
The outlook for the S&P 500 in 2026 is positive, with forecasts pointing to decent growth from an administration expected to “run it hot.” After the index gained over 20% in 2025, we could see traders position for another strong year by selling puts on stock index futures to collect premium during this quiet period. Volatility is low now but could pick up in January, so selling it seems attractive.<\/p>\n
While Bitcoin trades at a high level near $87,000, we’ve noticed signs of short-term weakness with four straight days of spot ETF outflows. After the massive inflows seen following their approval back in early 2024, this recent shift suggests some large players are taking profits off the table. This could present a chance for short-term bearish plays using options on Bitcoin futures.<\/p>\n
The conviction around Fed rate cuts is solidifying, and this should be factored into all positions moving forward. The CME FedWatch Tool is now pricing in a greater than 90% probability of at least one rate cut by the March 2026 meeting. This makes long positions in interest rate futures an increasingly crowded, but logical, trade.<\/p>\n
Create your live VT Markets account<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0start trading<\/a>\u00a0now. <\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Russia\u2019s jobless rate beats forecasts; markets mixed as holiday trading thins, affecting currencies, metals, and crypto.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":17028,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-live-updates"],"acf":{"acf_article_selection_author":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}