Daily summary: markets remain cautious ahead of US CPI 🔨

U.S. stocks are showing mixed performance Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 0.4%, the S&P 500 trading flat, and the NASDAQ Composite gaining 0.5%.

Oracle shares have tumbled over 8% after the cloud firm's quarterly earnings missed estimates amid increased competition in the sector.

Cryptocurrency markets are facing broad declines, with Ethereum leading losses at -4.94% ($3,526.30), ZCASH down 4.88%, FANTOM falling 4.59%, and Binance Coin dropping 4.35% to $647.68.

Bitcoin has declined 2.57% to $94,368.50, while AAVE shows relative resilience with a smaller decline of 0.77% to $249.69.

Microsoft shareholders rejected a proposal to accept Bitcoin as an additional form of investment of financial surplus. This proposal, although strongly supported by Michael Saylor (CEO of MicroStrategy), was not adopted by the company. This was in line with Microsoft's earlier recommendations for today's meeting.

Oil prices are trading flat, with WTI at $68.38 per barrel and Brent at $72.08 per barrel, as traders assess Middle East tensions and Chinese economic prospects.

Natural gas prices have retreated to around $3.0/MMBTU, erasing most of this week's opening gains despite high U.S. consumption.

Eli Lilly stock has risen after announcing a new $15 billion share buyback program and increasing its dividend by 15%.

Alaska Air shares have surged 14% after the carrier raised its fourth-quarter profit forecast due to robust travel demand.

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA.US) surged by over 20% following information regarding potential acquisition by private equity firm Sycamore Partners, which could finalize early next year. 

U.S. productivity remained steady at 2.2% as expected, while labor costs came in at 0.8%, below the forecast of 1.25%.

Bank of America analysts are forecasting a potential short-term dip in the S&P 500 despite bullish December seasonality, citing technical indicators showing upside exhaustion.

Boeing delivered only 13 commercial aircraft in November, marking its lowest monthly total in four years following a 53-day strike.

Markets are awaiting Wednesday's U.S. CPI data, with headline inflation expected to increase to 2.7% from 2.6% year-on-year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported a 34% increase in November sales, reflecting continued strong demand from AI-related business.

German inflation was confirmed at 2.2% year-on-year for November, with monthly prices declining 0.2% as expected.

Designer Brands Inc. has cut its full-year adjusted earnings per share guidance, while MongoDB fell 10% despite raising its annual forecast.