Global markets exploded last night—U.S. stocks soared, gold surged, and even the crypto market joined the rally.

Starting with U.S. stocks: the Dow Jones shot up by 408 points, a gain of 0.86%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also closed solidly in the green, up 0.30% and 0.17% respectively. But Chinese stocks didn’t fare as well—NIO and XPeng dropped over 4%, Li Auto and New Oriental fell more than 3%, and Alibaba, Baidu, and Pinduoduo all slipped.

What sparked this wave? The November private sector employment data collapsed. The market had expected 20,000 new jobs, but instead, there was a decrease of 32,000. As soon as the data came out, traders immediately bet on a Fed rate cut in December, with the probability soaring to 89%. U.S. Treasury yields fell in response, and the dollar weakened as well.

Gold reacted quickly. The main New York gold contract rose 0.28% to $4,232.5 per ounce. Whenever rate cut expectations rise, safe-haven assets and non-yielding gold are always the first to benefit.

Geopolitical tensions are also stirring the pot—a sudden explosion on the Russia-Ukraine oil pipeline sent oil prices soaring at the open. The energy and financial sectors led U.S. stocks, with market sentiment complex but exuberant.

Now all eyes are on next week: Will the Fed really cut rates? Can crypto assets like Ethereum and Dogecoin ride the momentum even higher? Let’s wait and see.