4:20pm: Wall Street cools after holiday rally
Stocks closed in the red on Monday, taking a small step back after wrapping up a shortened Christmas trading week near record highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 249 points, or 0.5%, to 48,462. The S&P 500 eased 0.4%, while the Nasdaq also lost 0.5%. Small caps lagged, with the Russell 2000 down 0.6%.
Despite the pullback, Wall Street is still on track to close out a volatile but rewarding 2025. The S&P 500 is up more than 17% for the year, the Dow has climbed over 14%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq continues to lead the way with gains of more than 21%.
Monday’s session was fairly quiet on the economic front, but there was one encouraging data point. Pending home sales in November jumped by the most since early 2023, suggesting that buyer interest in housing is starting to pick up again. Still, investors may be keeping their powder dry ahead of Tuesday’s release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting, which could offer fresh clues on the path for interest rates in 2026.
Megacap tech names weighed on the market, with Nvidia and Tesla both sliding more than 1.2%, adding to the day’s cautious tone.
Elsewhere, volatility hit the precious metals market after a blistering rally to record highs. Silver tumbled as much as 7% after pushing above $80, while gold futures fell more than 3%, reminding traders just how quickly sentiment can shift in thinner, year-end markets.
12:10pm: Stocks continue to slide
Stocks continued to fall by the midday point of Monday trading.
Just after 12pm ET, the Dow was down 0.6%, the S&P down 0.5% and the Nasdaq down 0.7%, leading losses.
Still, the market rose 1.4% last week and closed near fresh record highs. “Although volume was thin during the holiday-shortened week, buying pressure was widespread as advancing shares on the index outpaced decliners by nearly 3:1,” said Adam Turnquist, Chief Technical Strategist for LPL Financial.
Materials led gains with a 2.4% advance, while technology (up 1.8%) and financials (1.7%) rounded out the rest of the sector podium.
9:55am: Precious metals retreat
Stocks edged lower Monday as Wall Street kicked off the final three trading days of 2025, a year that has seen wild swings but is likely to close with sizable gains.
The Nasdaq led the retreat, falling 0.6% to 23,461, while the Dow Jones slipped 0.3% to 48,563 and the S&P 500 lost 0.4% to 6,905. The Russell 2000 was relatively flat, down just 0.1% at 2,533.
Volatility was also evident in commodities, particularly precious metals. Silver, which surged to a record above $84 an ounce earlier Monday, plummeted as much as 7% amid a wave of profit-taking. Gold futures also pulled back more than 3%.
“The final trading week of 2025 has begun, and so far, there’s not a Santa rally in sight,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB. “US futures are lower as the Magnificent 7 get hit, while silver is falling sharply after hitting record highs.”
The pullback in silver came after a stunning 150% surge for the year. Speculative activity, including chatter on X about China’s latest silver export restrictions, added to the volatility, Brooks noted, as investors book profits before the year closes. Copper, meanwhile, reached fresh record highs as industrial demand and tight supply continue to support metals.
In corporate news, SoftBank announced plans to buy US-listed digital infrastructure firm DigitalBridge for $16 a share in cash, a move that would expand the Japanese group’s footprint in AI-related assets.
Elsewhere, Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC, XETRA:INL) also sold 214.8 million shares to Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, XETRA:NVD) for $5 billion, a transaction highlighting the ongoing reshuffling in the tech sector.
With 2025 winding down, investors are navigating a mix of end-of-year profit-taking, record-setting commodities, and major tech and infrastructure deals, setting the stage for what could be an equally eventful start to 2026.
8:10am: Santa Claus rally faces early test
Wall Street futures were under a bit of pressure early Monday as US markets headed into the final three trading days of 2025.
Tech was leading the retreat before the opening bell. Futures tied to the Nasdaq slipped 0.4%, weighed down by weakness in megacaps, with Nvidia and Tesla both down more than 1%.
S&P 500 futures eased 0.2%, while Dow futures were hovering close to the flatline, suggesting a cautious start to another holiday-shortened week.
The pullback comes after stocks wrapped up a shortened Christmas week near record territory. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow notched fresh all-time highs on Wednesday, kicking off the so-called “Santa Claus rally” — the final five trading days of December and the first two sessions of January — a stretch that investors often watch closely for clues about early-year momentum.
Outside equities, volatility spilled into precious metals after a furious run to new highs. Silver retreated after surging above $80, while gold futures slid more than 1%, as traders locked in gains following the recent rally.
Geopolitics were also on investors’ radar. China launched military exercises around Taiwan, a move that rattled US-listed Chinese stocks. Shares of Alibaba were down about 3% in premarket trading.
On the corporate front, SoftBank Group was in focus after a report said the company is in advanced talks to acquire DigitalBridge, a private equity firm that invests in assets such as data centers.
As for the economic calendar, it’s a relatively quiet start to the week. Investors will get a look at US pending home sales for November at 10 AM ET, one of the few data points scheduled as markets coast toward year-end.