Tonight at 21:30, the latest U.S. CPI report will be announced; the three major U.S. index futures rise together; Huang Renxun: Nvidia has not paid 'a penny' to OpenAI【U.S. Stock Pre-Market】

① 【Three Major Index Futures Rise Together】Dow futures up 0.06%, S&P 500 index futures up 0.33%, Nasdaq futures up 0.63%.

② 【U.S. November CPI Report to be Announced Tonight】At 21:30 Beijing time, due to the U.S. government shutdown, the U.S. November CPI report, originally scheduled for release on December 10, will be announced. Analysts generally expect the year-on-year increase of November CPI to expand to 3.1% (slightly higher than September's 3.0%), while core CPI is expected to remain unchanged at 3.0%.

According to data collected by Barclays Bank, options traders are betting that the S&P 500 index's fluctuations on that day (Thursday) will be within 0.7%. This is far below the 1% average actual volatility triggered by the previous 12 CPI reports up to September this year. “The potential outcomes of the (November CPI) will have extremely limited impact on the stock market,” said Greg Boutle, head of U.S. equity and derivatives strategy at BNP Paribas, “The threshold for CPI data to have an impact is very high, and there must be a significant deviation from expected results.”

③ 【Micron Technology surges nearly 10%, storage concept stocks follow suit】As of the time of writing, Micron Technology has surged nearly 10% in pre-market trading. Reports indicate that the company's Q1 report for FY2026 shows that against the backdrop of strong chip demand, both the company’s performance and guidance have 'blown past expectations': Revenue reached $13.64 billion, a year-on-year increase of 57%; the projected revenue for the second fiscal quarter is $18.7 billion, far exceeding the market expectation of $14.3 billion.

Storage concept stocks collectively rise in pre-market trading, with SanDisk up nearly 5%, Seagate Technology and Western Digital up over 3%.

④ 【Lululemon rises over 4.5%】As of the time of writing, Lululemon has risen over 4.5% in pre-market trading. Reports indicate that investment management company Elliott has acquired over $1 billion in shares of the company.

⑤ 【Cryptocurrency concept stocks rise broadly】Cryptocurrency concept stocks are rising broadly in pre-market trading, with Robinhood, Coinbase, and BMNR up over 2%, and Strategy up over 1.5%.

⑥ 【Silver becomes the world's fourth-largest asset, market value surpassing Google】As of the time of writing, the price of silver is reported at $66.08 per ounce. The previous day, the price of silver first broke through $66 per ounce, with a year-to-date increase of nearly 130%. Currently, the total market value of silver has reached $37.52 trillion, surpassing AI giant Google, making it the fourth-largest asset in the world, only behind gold, NVIDIA, and Apple.

⑦ 【Apple adjusts iOS rules in Japan: supports third-party app stores and payments】According to media reports, on December 18, Apple adjusted its iOS applications in Japan to comply with the Japanese (Specific Smartphone Software Competition Promotion Law).

According to the new regulations, developers in Japan have multiple new rights: they can distribute iOS applications through third-party app stores outside of the App Store, and can directly integrate third-party payment tools like PayPay and LINE within the app, or guide users to complete transactions for digital goods and services through external links, with Apple's commission rate only being 10%-21%; at the same time, Apple must allow app distribution via web sideloading, charging only a 5% core technology fee for such transactions.

⑧ 【Jensen Huang: NVIDIA has not yet paid OpenAI】According to media reports, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang revealed on December 17 local time that, as part of a $100 billion investment plan in OpenAI, NVIDIA has not yet paid OpenAI 'a penny.' In September of this year, NVIDIA and OpenAI signed a cooperation intention, with NVIDIA planning to invest $100 billion in OpenAI to jointly build large-scale data centers.

⑨ 【OpenAI and Anthropic seek more office space to expand in Europe】According to media reports, OpenAI and Anthropic are seeking to expand their office space in Dublin. This move highlights the growing influence of both companies in Europe and the competition to increase the global usage rate of their artificial intelligence services.

⑩ 【Morgan Stanley: Chip stocks will remain one of the brightest sectors in the US stock market next year】Morgan Stanley's latest research report predicts that chip stocks will continue to be one of the brightest sectors in the US stock market next year, and has released a list of 'preferred chip stocks for 2026,' with NVIDIA, Broadcom, and Astera Labs ranking in the top three. Morgan Stanley analysts believe that the prosperity cycle of the semiconductor industry is far from over, and the global unlimited demand for artificial intelligence computing power is a key variable.