Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500 eye records, Nasdaq gains as Wall Street flies high into Christmas holiday

LIVE Updated 5 mins ago

Updated 2 min read

US stocks ticked upward in midday trading on Wednesday morning after the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) hit its latest record on Tuesday, setting up Wall Street to ride into the Christmas holiday on a high note.

The blue chip-focused Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) led the way up, gaining 0.5% to come within striking distance of a fresh record high. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) picked up 0.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gained a bit under 0.2%.

Markets close early on Wednesday for Christmas Eve and are off Thursday for the holiday. Wall Street’s bid for a “Santa Claus” rally is looking hopeful after a fourth day of gains left the S&P 500 at its latest record high, above 6,900.

Wall Street’s advance over the past several sessions has come despite new economic data that only served to dampen bets for rate cuts from the Federal Reserve in the near term. US GDP growth stood at 4.3% in the third quarter, according to a first estimate from the government, much higher than forecast as consumer spending held up over the summer.

But the GDP data led investors to trim bets on a January rate cut from the Fed — just more than 13% now expect that outcome. Most traders, however, still expect two rate cuts by the end of next year, as the divisions that defined the central bank this year are likely to persist even with a new chair set to replace Jerome Powell by mid-year.

Investors got one more sign of an economy that is nominally moving in the right direction as unemployment claims fell for the second week in a row, according to data released Wednesday — even as consumer confidence continues to falter.

Elsewhere, precious metals powered ahead on Wednesday, with gold (GC=F) rising to an all-time high above $4,500 an ounce before paring gains. Silver (SI=F) also advanced to a record, while platinum (PL=F) reversed, shedding more than 3%. Oil (BZ=F, CL=F) steadied after a run-up through the last few days.

Intel (INTC) managed to pare losses to a drop of around 1% on the day after reports that Nvidia (NVDA) had halted a test using Intel’s fabrication process for advanced chips.

LIVE 15 updates

Gold (GC=F) and silver (SI=F) are among this year’s biggest winners, with momentum driving prices to record highs and setting up their best year since 1979.

Gold traded above $4,500 per troy ounce on Wednesday before paring gains as it notched another milestone in a year packed with more than 50 record highs.

Silver has had an even stronger year, soaring 150% on robust industrial demand and physical shortages. The metal topped $70 on Wednesday, while futures climbed past $72 an ounce.

Meanwhile, copper (HG=F) also participated in the metals rally, reaching all-time highs on supply concerns before trimming gains.
The US consumer landscape is firmly K-shaped, and the economy is likely to continue to hold that shape into 2026, according to economic strategists. As the economy has grown while consumer sentiment has soured, higher-income households have outspent and out-earned lower-income households by a widening margin.

Yahoo Finance’s Brooke DiPalma reports:

Read more here.
The stock market is set up for a strong “Santa rally” this year after two years of negative returns in the seven-session trading period, according to LPL chief technical strategist Adam Turnquist.

“Momentum heading into year-end suggests a favorable setup for a positive Santa Claus Rally — a historically bullish signal for January and the year ahead,” Turnquist said in emailed commentary.

Recent strength in the S&P 500 (^GSPC)), along with wider market participation after a November pullback, are both signaling a bullish market approach heading into the Santa stretch of the last five trading days of 2025 plus the first two trading days of 2026, Turnquist said.

If the S&P 500 can notch a sustained breakout about 6,901, he said, it would generate a minimum technical-based price objective of around 7,270.”

At the same time, more economically sensitive sectors such as financials, industrials, and materials have all seen inflows from investors, taking precedent over defensive sectors such as energy and healthcare, signaling a bullish approach to risk from investors.

Concerns over sky-high AI and Big Tech valuations, persistent inflation and a struggling labor market could all weigh on a potential Santa rally, Turnquist said, but market momentum seems to be signaling a strong finish in 2025 and start to 2026.

“While overall market breadth remains somewhat narrow for an index near record highs, the trend is moving in the right direction,” Turnquist said.
US buyers are still facing restrictions from China over rare earth minerals, even after President Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping struck a deal in October to open up trade in the materials, according to Bloomberg.
The CEO of ChargePoint (CHPT), operator of the largest EV charging network in the US expects a pullback in installations in the fourth quarter in the wake of the federal EV tax credit’s expiration on Sept. 30.

Yahoo Finance’s Pras Subramanian reports:

Read more here.
Credit and debit card data shows that consumer spending held up through 2025 even as the market fluctuated, according to research from Bank of America.

Consumers started the year on rocky footing, BofA found, with a decline in household spending through the first quarter. But spending bounced back through June and July after President Trump backed off on some of his steepest tariffs, then remained strong.

While consumer spending was flat month-on-month in November, BofA found, spending on debit and credit cards remains 1.3% higher compared to the same time last year. Increased spending on gasoline was the primary driver of the change in November levels, as an uptick in filling up the tank offset a decline in spending on services. (Gas prices hit a four-year low on December 16 as the national average pump price slid below $3 to rest at $2.90 nationally.)

Despite the positive year-on-year trends in spending, BofA noted, the strength has been bifurcated as a “K-shaped economy” has emerged through the second half of the year. Strength in spending and wage growth has largely been driven by higher-income households, while those same figures have dropped among lower-income households.
US stocks opened Wednesday’s trading session on shaky footing after the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) hit its latest record on Tuesday, setting up Wall Street to ride into the Christmas holiday on a high note.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC), blue chip-focused Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) all held roughly flat, bouncing just over and just under the flatline as investors began trading.

Meanwhile, gold (GC=F) rose to an all-time high above $4,500 an ounce, while silver (SI=F) and platinum (PL=F) also advanced to records. Oil (BZ=F, CL=F) steadied after a run-up through the last few days on tensions in Venezuela.

Intel (INTC) fell by roughly 2.3% in the first minutes of trading after reports that Nvidia (NVDA) paused a test to potentially use Intel’s fabrication process for advanced chips.
US unemployment claims fell to 214,000 for the week ended Dec. 20, down 10,000 from the previous week’s 224,000 claims, according to data released Wednesday morning by the Department of Labor.

Economists had expected the number to remain flat at 224,000.

The drop marks the second week of decreasing claims in a row as the four-week moving average fell to 216,750, down 750 from the previous average of 217,500, according to the DOL data.

The data marks a shift from November, when claims reached their highest level since 2020, although the data has often been seasonally volatile. The unemployment rate rose to a four-year high last month, according to the government’s monthly jobs report.

The University of Michigan’s final consumer sentiment reading of the year reported that nearly two-thirds of respondents expect unemployment to rise in the year ahead. Data published Tuesday by the Consumer Confidence Board reported similar findings, showing that even as the US economy is nominally doing well — third-quarter GDP grew and inflation has fallen — its consumer confidence index fell 3.8 points to 89.1 in December.
Intel (INTC) stock fell 3% before the bell on Wednesday after a report showed that AI chip giant Nvidia (NVDA) will not use Intel’s chip production process.

Investing.com reports:

Read more here.
President Trump appeared miffed yesterday when the stock market initially wavered after third quarter GDP growth came in stronger than expected. It looked like a classic “good news is bad news” situation, where investors assumed that the stronger growth would lead to fewer rate cuts from the Federal Reserve next year.

Trump suggested that the Fed chair he appoints to succeed Jerome Powell should cut rates even when economic data shows strength. Joe Lavorgna, a top adviser to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, emphasized this message in an interview with Yahoo Finance’s Jennifer Schonberger.

From Jennifer’s write-up:

Read more here.
Dynavax Technologies (DVAX) jumped 38% on Wednesday before the bell after Sanofi (SNY) announced it will buy the US vaccine company for around $2.2 billion, a deal that will give it access to an approved hepatitis B vaccine.

Reuters reports:

Read more here.
Bloomberg News reports:

Read more here.
UiPath Inc. (PATH) stock jumped 7% before the bell on Wednesday after news that the software company will be added to the S&P MidCap 400.

Investing.com reports:

Read more here.
Bloomberg News reports:

Read more here.

Terms and Privacy Policy