4:20pm: Apple hits new high
Stocks closed higher on Tuesday, bouncing back from a fragile start to December trading as investors turned their attention back to cryptocurrencies and related tech stocks.
The Nasdaq led the gains, climbing 0.6% to 23,414, while the Dow Jones added 185 points, or 0.4%, to finish at 47,474. The S&P 500 ticked up 0.3% to 6,829, and the Russell 2000 slipped 0.2% to 2,465.
Apple continued its winning streak, hitting another record close at $286.19. Meanwhile, bitcoin reversed a weeks-long slide, trading above $91,000 in its biggest single-day gain since April.
Investors will be keeping a close eye on earnings reports due after the bell, including Marvell, Crowdstrike, and Okta, which could set the tone for tech stocks in the days ahead.
3:45pm: Proactive news headlines
- Century Lithium Corp. (TSX-V:LCE, OTCQX:CYDVF) achieved high recovery rates of rare earth elements from lithium leach solutions at its Angel Island project, suggesting potential additional revenue alongside lithium production.
- Phunware Inc (NASDAQ:PHUN) appointed Elliot Han as chairperson of its board and audit committee, while he continues to chair the compensation committee.
- Blockmate Ventures Inc (TSX-V:MATE, OTCQB:MATEF)’s Hivello Holdings partnered with Naoris Protocol to integrate quantum-resistant cybersecurity into its DePIN platform.
- Power Metallic Mines Inc (TSX-V:PNPN, OTCQB:PNPNF)’s summer drilling at the Nisk project extended high-grade mineralization in the Lion Zone and identified new 2026 exploration targets.
- Tiziana Life Sciences Ltd (NASDAQ:TLSA) plans to spin out its anti-IL-6 receptor antibody program, TZLS-501, into a separately listed public company amid growing industry interest.
- Gunnison Copper Corp (TSX:GCU, OTCQB:GCUMF) fully repaid $7.3 million of non-convertible debt, leaving only $5.25 million convertible principal outstanding.
- Replenish Nutrients Holding Corp (CSE:ERTH, OTC:VVIVF) advanced licensing agreements and progress at its Beiseker facility, supporting plans to scale regenerative fertilizer production in North America.
- Ecora Resources PLC (LSE:ECOR, TSX:ECOR, OTCQX:ECRAF) reported record-high assay results from NexGen’s Patterson Corridor East uranium project, marking the strongest mineralization grades to date.
2:30pm: Market movers
- MongoDB Inc (NASDAQ:MDB) shares jumped 25% on Tuesday after the cloud database company posted strong third-quarter results and raised full-year guidance, boosted by rising demand for its Atlas platform and AI-driven enterprise adoption.
- Century Lithium Corp. (TSX-V:LCE, OTCQX:CYDVF) said it has achieved high recovery rates of rare earth elements (REEs) from lithium leach solutions at its Angel Island project in Nevada.
- Boeing Co (NYSE:BA, XETRA:BCO) shares added almost 10% on Tuesday after its chief financial officer Jay Malave said the company’s recovery is "in full force.”
- Shopify Inc (TSX:SH., NYSE:SHOP) said its merchants recorded a record $14.6 billion in sales over the Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend, up 27% from a year earlier, as online shopping showed continued strength.
- Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) reported third-quarter results that beat expectations, but the company’s cautious guidance for the holiday season sent its shares down 3.5% in early trading.
- Credo Technology (NASDAQ:CRDO) shares surged almost 15% as it reported fiscal second quarter earnings that topped Wall Street estimates, driven by rising demand for its AI-driven connectivity solutions.
1:15pm: Tesla sales rebound in China
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) saw a rebound in its China-made electric vehicle sales in November 2025, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) released Tuesday.
The US automaker wholesaled 86,700 vehicles from its Shanghai factory last month, including both domestic deliveries and exports to Europe and other markets.
This represents a 9.95% increase from the 78,856 units sold in November 2024 and a 40.98% rise from October 2025's 61,497 units, marking Tesla’s second-best month of the year.
12:05pm: Shopify reveals Black Friday sales
Shopify Inc (TSX:SH., NYSE:SHOP) said its merchants recorded a record $14.6 billion in sales over the Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend, up 27% from a year earlier, as online shopping showed continued strength.
From early Friday in New Zealand to late Monday in California, more than 81 million customers worldwide bought from brands powered by Shopify, with an average cart value of about $115. Peak sales reached $5.1 million per minute on Black Friday.
Shopify’s infrastructure handled 2.2 trillion edge requests, 90 petabytes of data, and 14.8 trillion database queries over the weekend. While a Cyber Monday outage temporarily affected some admin and point-of-sale systems, the company said the issues were resolved by Monday evening.
11:20am: OpenAI declares 'code red'
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has declared a “code red” at the artificial intelligence startup as rivals narrow the lead of its ChatGPT chatbot, according to internal communications reported by The Wall Street Journal.
In a memo to staff, Altman said ChatGPT’s quality needed improvement to keep pace with competitors, prompting the company to prioritize upgrades to personalization, speed, reliability, and its ability to answer a wider range of questions.
Other initiatives, including advertising, AI agents for health and shopping, and the personal assistant Pulse, will be temporarily delayed.
The announcement comes as OpenAI faces mounting pressure from rivals. Google recently released Gemini 3, a new version of its AI model that surpassed ChatGPT in benchmark tests and received widespread acclaim. Gemini now has more than 650 million monthly active users, up from 450 million in July, compared with ChatGPT’s more than 800 million weekly users.
10:40am: Fed rate cut odds raised
Weak US economic data has increased expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut next week, according to Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote.
“Judging by the data and Fed funds futures, a rate cut next week seems highly likely; otherwise, the market reaction would be severe,” she said.
Ozkardeskaya highlighted ongoing economic weakness beyond the AI sector, noting that factory activity contracted for the ninth consecutive month, orders fell at the steepest pace in four months, and employment declined. While strong Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales were reported, she said inflation still pressures consumer spending, with Americans buying fewer goods but paying higher prices.
Ozkardeskaya warned that tariff-driven costs and a softening jobs market could ultimately weigh on demand, complicating the Fed’s policy decisions.
9:50am: Quiet start
Markets are showing signs of a cautious rebound on Tuesday after a rocky start to December that saw sharp losses across Wall Street and in cryptocurrencies.
The Nasdaq is leading gains with a 0.8% rise to 23,471 while the S&P 500 is up 0.4% to 6,837. The Dow Jones is essentially flat at 47,291, and the Russell 2000 is lagging, down 1.3% at 2,469.
Monday’s selloff snapped five-day winning streaks for the major indexes and added a note of uncertainty to what is usually a strong month for equities. Traders are now watching to see if the so-called Santa Claus rally can still materialize.
In individual stock moves, Warner Bros shares are climbing after Netflix reportedly made a sweetened offer to outbid Paramount for the entertainment giant. MongoDB surged after raising its outlook on booming AI demand, while Credo Technology gained following a forecast-beating quarter. Meanwhile, Vanguard announced that for the first time, clients will be able to buy crypto exchange-traded funds managed by third parties.
On the policy front, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman is set to testify before the House Financial Services Committee at 10 am Tuesday. Quantitative tightening also wraps up today after draining reserves since mid-2022. Usage of the Fed’s Standing Repo Facility reached $26 billion on Monday, the second-highest since the pandemic, suggesting banks are still paying above-market rates to access reserves.
Even though the Fed’s balance sheet stops shrinking today, it will continue letting $2 trillion in mortgage bonds roll off while reinvesting into Treasury bills, shifting collateral from housing to short-term funding markets. Goldman Sachs expects reserve management purchases to begin in January at $20 billion per month to keep reserves stable, signaling the central bank may need to expand its balance sheet again soon to prevent further funding stress.
8:15am: Traders look past Monday’s pullback
Futures were pointing modestly higher early Tuesday as investors tried to shake off Monday’s shaky start to the week.
S&P 500 futures rose about 0.3%, while Nasdaq 100 contracts climbed roughly 0.4%. Dow futures hovered just above the flatline, hinting at a more cautious tone ahead of the open.
Bitcoin managed a small comeback, edging back into the green and trading above $87,000. That’s a welcome pause after Monday’s slide to $84,000 .
On the macro front, investors are still digesting a drip-feed of delayed government data that could shape expectations for a potential December rate cut. Monday’s weaker US factory readings, pressured by tariffs, didn’t dramatically shift those expectations, but they did reinforce the sense that the path into year-end will be data-dependent.
Earnings are relatively quiet, but there are a few names to watch. Marvell reports after the bell, with its stock already moving in premarket trading on news from The Information that it’s in advanced talks to buy chip start-up Celestial AI in a multibillion-dollar deal. CrowdStrike and Okta also step up later on Tuesday, keeping the focus on software and cybersecurity.
Market sentiment remains a bit shaky after Monday’s slide, but not everyone sees cause for concern. Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone, argues that the broader bull run is still intact and that recent dips continue to look like buying opportunities as the final stretch of the year gets underway. “It didn’t exactly feel like a ‘proper’ risk-off day, especially looking at how other assets traded,” Brown wrote, citing gold and the US dollar.
One thing that did stand out, Brown says, was the sell-off across a steeper Treasury curve, tied in part to revived concerns about Fed independence as speculation grows that Kevin Hassett could be tapped to replace Jay Powell. Markets seem to be weighing the possibility that a more dovish, politically aligned Fed chair could nudge inflation expectations higher.
All told, Tuesday opens with a cautiously optimistic tone.