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December 8th - Trump plans to give the government stakes in strategic industries, but the head of Boeing Defense said on Saturday that the plan does not apply to large defense companies, a stark contrast to comments made earlier by a senior government official. Steve Parker, CEO of Boeing Defense, said at a panel discussion at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simivalli, California, that the government wants industry to invest in facilities, and large contractors are expected to be able to do so without government assistance. Speaking about the prospect of U.S. government investment in exchange for ownership, Parker said, "This really only applies to the supply chain, especially to smaller companies; it might be one path for them." Parker added, "I don't think it really applies to large corporations," referring to large traditional defense contractors such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman.

Futures News, December 8th: Retail price limits for gasoline and diesel will be lowered by 55 yuan per ton at 24:00 on December 8th. This translates to a decrease of 0.04 yuan per liter for 92# gasoline, 0.05 yuan per liter for 95# gasoline, and 0.05 yuan per liter for 0# diesel. This is the eleventh price reduction this year. Looking ahead, due to the continued uncertainty in Europe and South America, international oil prices are unlikely to break out of a one-sided trend and may maintain narrow fluctuations. The new crude oil price change rate will begin at the start of the new cycle, with an initial increase of 75 yuan per ton on the first day. The price adjustment window will open at 24:00 on December 22nd.

S&P Global downgraded the outlook for the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) to negative and affirmed its “AA-/A-1+” rating.

Pop Mart (09992.HK) fell more than 7%, with Morgan Stanley predicting that its growth rate will slow down next year.

The yield on 20-year Japanese government bonds rose 2.5 basis points to 2.945%, a record high.

Baidu (09888.HK) rose more than 5% after the company said it is evaluating the spin-off and listing of Kunlun Core, but does not guarantee that the spin-off and listing will take place.

On Monday, December 8, the Hang Seng Index opened down 17.22 points, or 0.07%, at 26,067.86; the Hang Seng Tech Index opened up 4.53 points, or 0.08%, at 5,666.99; the H-share Index opened up 0.3 points, or 0.0%, at 9,198.6; and the Red Chip Index opened up 2.03 points, or 0.05%, at 4,262.26.

Hang Seng Index futures opened down 0.18% at 26,099 points, a premium of 14 points.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara: Japan will independently determine the appropriate level of its defense spending.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara: The ratio of defense spending to GDP is not a key issue.

December 8th - An industry report released on Monday showed that the UK job market remained weak last month, ahead of Chancellor Reeves' budget address on November 26th, due to employers' concerns about potential new tax increases. According to a survey by accounting firm KPMG and industry group Recruiting and Employment Confederation (REC), the rate of decline in permanent positions was the slowest since July 2024, but showed little improvement compared to October. The survey also showed that the temporary recruitment index fell below the 50.0 threshold separating expansion from contraction.

On December 8th, US President Trump raised potential antitrust concerns about Netflix's (NFLX.O) planned acquisition of Warner Bros., pointing to the potential problems arising from the combined entity's market share. "It'll be a process, and we'll see," Trump said, confirming he met with Netflix co-CEO Sarandos last week and praising the streaming company. "But it has a lot of market share. That could be a problem." The $72 billion deal has raised concerns among antitrust regulators.

Shares of LG Energy Solutions rose 1.6% to 433,000 won.

According to data released by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on December 5th (Friday), as of the week ending October 28th: Speculators increased their net long positions in COMEX copper futures and options by 6,674 contracts to 66,553 contracts. Speculators also increased their net long positions in COMEX gold futures and options by 13,501 contracts to 105,635 contracts. Finally, speculators increased their net long positions in COMEX silver futures and options by 4,159 contracts to 22,696 contracts.

Japan's final reading for nominal GDP growth in the third quarter was -0.1% quarter-on-quarter, compared to a forecast of 0% and a previous reading of 0.10%.

Japan's final reading for the third quarter GDP deflator was 3.4% year-on-year, below the expected 2.80% and the previous reading of 2.80%.