Early Look

Wednesday, December 31, 2025

After hitting new all-time highs over a week ago for the Dow Jones Industrials, Russell 2000, Dow Transports and S&P 500 Index, stocks have slipped in the last few days and come into the final trading day of 2025 with a 3-day losing streak…but still remain on track for solid gains this year, paced by Technology, Communications, Industrials and Financials. The S&P 500 and the Dow are set to post their eighth consecutive month in the green, bolstered by AI-related stocks that pushed all three indexes to record highs this year. According to, @ISABELNET_SAon “X”, for the S&P 500, “An eighth straight winning month in sight? Since 1950, the S&P 500 has done that only ten times, and almost never lost steam afterward. Nine out of ten rallies kept climbing over the next six months, with a median gain of 7.8%.”The benchmark S&P 500 (SPX) remains up over 17% this year, on track for its sixth year of 15%-plus gains over the past seven. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite is on track for gains over 20%, while the Dow is up over 13%. In Asian markets, the Nikkei, Hang Seng, and Shanghai markets were not open last night (the evening/overnight of December 30–31, 2025, leading into December 31) as all three major Asian markets were closed for the day in observance of New Year’s Eve/Day holidays: In Europe, the German DAX was closed while the FTSE 100 is down -21 points to 9,919. After hitting record highs above $83 an ounce 2-days ago, silver prices are looking down -5.8% around $72 an ounce and gold prices are down -1.3% at $4,328 after all-time highs $4,584 recently. The Federal Reserve’s interest rate trajectory will set the tone for global markets heading into 2026, after mild economic data this month and expectations of a new dovish Fed chair prompted investors to price in further reductions.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -94.87 points, or 0.20%, to 48,367.06
• The Nasdaq Composite dropped -55.27 points, or 0.24%, to 23,419.08
• The Russell 2000 Index declined -19.21 points, or 0.76% to 2,500.59

• 8:30 AM ET                  Weekly Jobless Claims
• 8:30 AM EST                Continuing Claims
• 9:45 AM ET                  Chicago PMI for December
• 10:30 AM ET                Weekly DOE Inventory Data
• 12:00 PM ET                Weekly EIA Natural Gas Inventory Data

• In China, President Xi Jinping declared China’s economy is set to hit its growth target in 2025, after what he called an “extraordinary year.” China’s gross domestic product is expected to expand by around 5% this year, Xi told an annual gathering held by the country’s top political advisory body, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
• Respondents to a Federal Reserve survey anticipated that the central bank’s reserve management purchases will total more than $200 billion over 12 months as part of efforts to quell pressures in money markets – Bloomberg.
• Finnish authorities have inspected a vessel suspected of causing cable damage in the Gulf of Finland, President Alexander Stubb said on X on Wednesday.

• Michael Burry, the money manager made famous in The Big Short, denied being short on Tesla Inc. (TSLA) shares despite earlier this month calling the company “ridiculously overvalued.” “I am not short,” Burry said in response to a user on X who asked if he would bet against Tesla – Bloomberg.

• Precious metal prices (silver and gold) slide this morning after the CME Group raised margin requirements on precious metals again on Tuesday night (December 30, 2025). This was the second hike in a short period, following an earlier increase announced on December 26, 2025 (effective December 29). The new changes, covering gold, silver, platinum, and palladium futures, take effect after the close of business on December 31, 2025.

• Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc (ARCT) files for mixed shelf of up to $500M.
• Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. (AXSM) announced that it has received formal pre-New Drug Application (NDA) meeting minutes from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) supporting an NDA submission for AXS-12 in narcolepsy. AXS-12 (reboxetine) is a highly selective and potent norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor and cortical dopamine modulator.
• Vanda Pharmaceuticals (VNDA) shares rise after saying the FDA has approved its drug Nereus to prevent motion-induced vomiting and the company expects to launch the drug in the coming months.

• Weibo Corp. (WB) authorizes $200 mln share repurchase program.