Market Highlights

US stocks slipped for a second straight day as traders trimmed bets on tech megacaps before the end of the year. Volatility gripped precious metals as silver retreated after touching a record high. The S&P 500 fell 0.3%, with shares of Tesla Inc., Nvidia Corp. and Meta Platforms among the Big Tech decliners. The Nasdaq 100 slid 0.5%. In US government bonds, the yield on 10-year Treasuries edged lower to 4.11%. Global stocks struggled for momentum amid a lack of positive catalysts heading into the end of the year. Silver and gold regained their footing after a plunge from fresh all-time highs.

The post-Christmas session on Wall Street saw stocks fluctuatingnear their all-time highs as recent signs of economic resilience reinforced positive expectations for corporate profits. While the S&P 500 barely budged amid a slowdown in transactions, the equity gauge posted its best week in a month. Most megacaps fell, but Nvidia Corp. rose on a licensing deal with artificial- intelligence startup Groq. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. paced gains in materials producers as gold hit a record. Global stocks held gains from a record-breaking run fueled by artificial intelligence that’s helped markets rebound from an April slump sparked by tariff concerns. Volatility gripped precious metals such as silver, which climbed to another all-time high

The holiday-shortened week started with gains in stocks amid a broad advance that saw a continuation of the bullish momentum on Wall Street. Oil and gold rallied as the dollar fell. Equities erased their December losses, with the S&P 500 set for an eighth straight up month - the longest winning run since 2018. Almost 400 of its shares rose Monday as the benchmark approached a record. Tesla Inc. and Nvidia Corp. led megacaps higher. A gauge of smaller firms climbed 1.2%. Global equities extended their record-breaking run, rising for a fourth straight day as a much- expected year-end rally took hold. The yen strengthened.

The last stretch of a busy week for markets saw stocks climbing while traders faced the expiration of a record pile of options that threatened to amplify price swings. Bitcoin jumped. Bonds fell. A rally in several tech names that have been under scrutiny over their ambitious artificial- intelligence spending plans lifted equities. The back-to-back advance in the S&P 500 wiped out its loss for the week. Nvidia Corp. led gains in megacaps. Oracle Corp. surged about 6.5%. Global stocks advanced to a one-week high as investors bet on a strong finishto the year for markets following a rally in US shares on Friday.

Volatility lashed Wall Street, pushing high-valuation technology shares and crypto lower while bonds pared losses after a senior Federal Reserve official signaled room for rate cuts. A tech rout hit stocks amid growing skepticism about the artificial-intelligence trade. Nvidia Corp. sank 3.8%. Losses accelerated as the S&P 500 breached a key technical level, with the index down 1.2%. The Nasdaq 100 slid 1.9%. In late hours, Micron Technology Inc. gave an upbeat forecast. Stocks traded mixed after an upbeat forecast from the largest US memory-chip maker helped put the brakes on a tech-driven selloff on a busy day for data and central bank meetings.

Signs the US jobs market is sluggish, but not quickly deteriorating saw traders refraining from boosting bets on near-term Federal Reserve rate cuts, with stocks falling and bonds wavering. A noisy reading reflecting some of the impacts of the longest government shutdown in US history was received by traders with caution. The S&P 500 fell for a third straight day. Treasury yields edged mildly down as swaps implied only 20% odds of a January Fed cut. A reduction is fully priced in by mid-2026. Nonfarm payrolls increased 64,000 in November after declining 105,000 in October amid a contraction in federal employment. The jobless rate rose to 4.6% last month, continuing its upward climb as many out-of-work Americans struggled to land new jobs.

The last full trading week of 2025 started with stocks, bonds and the dollar wavering as Wall Street geared up for key economic data that will help shape the Federal Reserve rate outlook. On the eve of the jobs report, the S&P 500 closed mildly lower. A renewed tech slide saw Broadcom Inc. posting its worst three-day plunge since 2020. Oracle Corp. extended its multi-session selloff to about 17%. A rout in cryptocurrencies also kept a lid on riskier assets. Stocks declined and the dollar hovered near two-month lows as investors reined in risk ahead of key US economic data that will offer clues on the path for interest rates.

Wall Street traders took profits on the year’s biggest artificial intelligence winners, dragging global gauges back from the brink of record highs. Longer-dated bond yields climbed. A disappointing sales outlook from Broadcom Inc. sent the chipmaker tumbling 11% and weighed on rivals, further fueling investor anxiety over AI wagers initially prompted by Oracle Corp. The AI bellwether’s stock drop started Thursday following a forecast for rising capital outlays and a longer timeline to a revenue payoff. The slump deepened Friday on a report of delays to some of Oracle’s data center projects. Shares of companies tied to the AI power infrastructure also slid. The Nasdaq 100 slid 1.9% while The S&P 500 fell 1.1% after the index had notched a record close in the previous session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Russell 2000 pulled back from all-time highs.

Bonds rose and stocks jumped as the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for a third consecutive time, and after Chair Jerome Powell voiced optimism that the economy will strengthen as the inflationary impact from tariffs proves temporary. The S&P 500 closed 0.7% higher, just short of all-time highs. The Nasdaq 100 ended the day in the green while the Russell 2000 gauge of small-caps jumped 1.3% to a record. Oracle Corp. fell more than 6% in afterhours trading after second-quarter revenue missed estimates. The company’s fate is deeply tied to the artificial intelligence boom and a downbeat earnings could bleed through to other AI wagers. The equity rally spurred by a US interest-rate cut and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s sanguine economic outlook unraveled after Oracle Corp. reignited concerns about the vast spending tied to artificial intelligence.

With less than 24 hours to go until the Federal Reserve’s finalinterest-rate decision of 2025, Wall Street traders put off placing big bets as they waited for clues to the central bank’s path for next year. The S&P 500 ended Tuesday’s session little changed after JPMorgan Chase & Co. warned about higher-than- expected costs and called consumers “fragile.” The lender fell more than 4%. The blue-chip Dow slid while the Nasdaq 100 made a small advance. The rate on 10-year Treasuries hovered at around 4.19% following a government bond auction, while the dollar was little changed and Bitcoin climbed. Stocks are marking a second straight day of restrained moves as traders await the Fed’s outlook for interest rates in 2026 after an expected cut at Wednesday’s policy announcement.