In a volatile 2025 that is expected to conclude with significant gains, US equities fell on Monday to begin the last three trading days.
Megacap shares of Nvidia (NVDA) and Tesla (TSLA) dropped more than 1.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) dipped 0.5%. While the S&P 500 (^GSPC) dropped by about 0.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) also dropped by 0.5%.
In the meantime, following an intense surge to all-time highs, instability engulfed the precious metals market. Gold (GC=F) futures plummeted more than 3%, while silver (SI=F) retreated, falling as much as 7% after surging above $80.
The S&P 500 and Dow reached records on Wednesday to begin the "Santa Claus rally" period, which includes the final five trading days of December and the first two sessions of January. Stocks then dipped after concluding a shortened Christmas trading week near all-time highs.
It appears that all three of the major indexes will end 2025 with significant gains. The blue-chip Dow has increased by more than 14%, while the benchmark S&P has increased by more than 17%.
Even though it temporarily entered a bear market in April with the implementation of President Trump's most extensive tariffs, the tech-heavy Nasdaq has led gains, adding almost 21% thus far.
On Monday, data revealed that pending home sales in November increased the most since early 2023, indicating that homebuyer enthusiasm is growing.
This was a bright spot in another otherwise quite dull week for economic announcements. However, the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's meeting earlier this month on Tuesday is probably going to be the week's high point.
With the divisions that have plagued the central bank in 2025 likely to persist into the new year, the minutes may provide investors seeking hints about the Fed's next action in January with new information.
Although traders are more divided on what the committee will do in March, over 80% of bets are on the Fed maintaining current interest rate levels next month.
