U.S. stocks head into Christmas Eve with momentum—and with one big caveat: time. Markets are open Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, but the session is shortened, setting up a low-liquidity trading day where even small order flows can look bigger than they are. Futures were cautious in the early hours after Tuesday’s record-setting finish for the S&P 500, as investors balance strong economic growth data against still-sticky inflation and shifting expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts. [1]
Where the major indexes stand heading into the Christmas Eve session
The S&P 500 is coming off another closing high, finishing Tuesday at 6,909.79, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 48,442.41 and the Nasdaq Composite at 23,561.84. Big tech and other growth-heavy leadership again did the heavy lifting, with Nvidia among the biggest supports to the benchmark. [2]
Early Wednesday, stock index futures were mostly flat to slightly lower—consistent with a market that’s not trying to pick a fight on a half-day. As of 3:20 a.m. ET, Stocktwits reported Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 futures were flat, while Dow futures were down 0.1% and Russell 2000 futures were down 0.2%. [3]
Christmas Eve trading hours: what’s open, what’s closed
U.S. equity markets are operating on an early close schedule:
- NYSE (and affiliated NYSE markets): early close at 1:00 p.m. ET (with eligible options closing at 1:15 p.m. ET). [4]
- The market is closed Thursday, Dec. 25 (Christmas Day) and reopens for a regular session Friday, Dec. 26. [5]
- The bond market also winds down early on Christmas Eve (commonly cited as a 2:00 p.m. ET close). [6]
A separate operational wrinkle this week has been Washington’s calendar: the NYSE and other major U.S. exchanges said their schedules remain unchanged even after a presidential order to close federal government offices on Dec. 24 and Dec. 26. In other words, the market runs its own clock. [7]
The macro driver: GDP surprised to the upside, and rates expectations shifted
Tuesday’s rally—and the fresh S&P 500 record—came after a cluster of economic updates highlighted a U.S. economy that’s still growing faster than many expected late in the year.
The standout was the third-quarter growth revision: U.S. GDP rose at a 4.3% annualized rate in Q3, well above the 3.3% consensus estimate cited by Reuters, and the fastest pace since Q3 2023. Reuters noted the data arrived after delays tied to a government shutdown, and many analysts still expect growth to cool in Q4. [8]
That “hotter” growth print matters for one reason that never sleeps: interest rates. Reuters reported that markets were pricing in lower odds of a January Fed rate cut, with shorter-dated Treasury yields rising after the GDP surprise. [9]
At the same time, inflation hasn’t vanished into the holiday mist. The Associated Press highlighted that the PCE price index (a measure watched closely by the Fed) ran at an annual pace of 2.8%, underscoring why traders are still debating the timing and pace of 2026 easing. [10]
Why “growth stocks” are leading again
One of the more important under-the-surface stories is not just that stocks rose—it’s which stocks did.
Reuters reported that the S&P 500 growth index gained 0.8% while the value index was largely unchanged, with AI-linked megacaps rebounding from a valuation-driven wobble the previous week. Nvidia rose 3%, and Amazon, Alphabet, and Broadcom each gained more than 1% in the session. [11]
This “growth wins when rate cuts look less certain” dynamic may sound backward, but it has shown up repeatedly in late-2025 tape action: investors have often preferred companies perceived to have durable revenue engines (or AI tailwinds) even when the bond market gets jumpy—especially in thin holiday trading.
The “Santa Claus rally” starts now—at least on the calendar
There’s also a seasonal storyline traders love almost as much as they love arguing about it.
Reuters described the “Santa Claus rally” as the seasonal window when the S&P 500 has historically posted gains across the last five trading days of the year and the first two of January. According to Reuters, this year’s window begins Wednesday (Dec. 24) and runs through Jan. 5. [12]
Important fine print for 2025: volume is already thinning. Reuters clocked Tuesday’s U.S. exchange volume at 14.01 billion shares versus a 20-day average of 16.67 billion—and that was before the half-day and holiday closures. [13]
Low volume doesn’t automatically mean “stocks go up,” but it does mean price moves can be exaggerated, and headline-driven swings can feel sharper than they “should” on a normal liquidity day.
Key corporate headlines shaping today’s tape
Even on a quiet session, a handful of single-stock stories can pull attention (and flows) disproportionate to the calendar.
Novo Nordisk: FDA approval for Wegovy pill reshapes the obesity-drug race
Novo Nordisk gained a major advantage in the weight-loss market after the U.S. FDA approved an oral version of Wegovy (a 25 mg semaglutide pill). Reuters reported Novo shares jumped on the news, and framed it as a meaningful edge—at least temporarily—over rival Eli Lilly’s pill efforts. [14]
Novo Nordisk’s own announcement described Wegovy pill as the first oral GLP‑1 therapy approved for weight management, citing trial results that showed 16.6% mean weight loss when treatment was adhered to. [15]
ServiceNow: a $7.75B cybersecurity bet (and investor skepticism)
ServiceNow agreed to buy cybersecurity startup Armis for $7.75 billion, its biggest deal ever, aiming to expand security capabilities amid AI-driven cyber risks. Reuters said the acquisition sparked investor concerns about acquisition spending, with ServiceNow shares sliding after the announcement. [16]
Sanofi and Dynavax: vaccine deal is live
Sanofi announced it will acquire Dynavax for about $2.2 billion, valuing the company at $15.50 per share in cash. Reuters reported the deal is expected to close in Q1 2026 and that Sanofi said it won’t change its 2025 outlook. [17]
Alphabet’s Waymo: software updates after a high-profile disruption
Waymo said it will update software and emergency response protocols after a major San Francisco outage caused robotaxis to stall and worsen congestion. Reuters described how the outage triggered a surge in “confirmation” requests that slowed operations and drew regulator attention—an unusual but very real reminder that “AI trade” headlines can also arrive from the physical world. [18]
Meta: new European regulatory pressure point
Italy’s antitrust authority ordered Meta to suspend WhatsApp contractual terms that regulators say could shut rival AI chatbots out of the platform, as part of an investigation into alleged abuse of dominance. That kind of regulatory development can matter for megacaps on a thin day—especially when market leadership is already concentrated. [19]
Cross-asset signals: gold and silver smash records as the dollar softens
While equities flirt with record territory, other markets are sending their own messages.
Reuters reported gold topping $4,500 with silver and platinum also hitting record highs, describing a “frenzy” in metals markets. Reuters also noted gold up roughly 70% in 2025 and silver up about 150% year-to-date—moves that are hard to ignore even if you’re equity-only. [20]
In the broader global-market wrap, Reuters also pointed to the U.S. dollar down about 10% for the year and oil down roughly 20% year-to-date, reflecting a strange late-2025 mix: resilient U.S. growth, cooling (but not cool) inflation, and persistent geopolitical and policy uncertainty. [21]
What to watch next (even on a half-day)
With the market closing early, catalysts are fewer—but not zero.
- Weekly jobless claims are due Wednesday, a standard high-frequency pulse check on layoffs and labor-market cooling. [22]
- Investors will keep scanning Treasury yields for confirmation that the GDP surprise is (or isn’t) changing the rate-cut path implied by market pricing. [23]
- With liquidity thin, headline risk and single-stock volatility can matter more than usual—particularly in megacaps that dominate index weightings. [24]
Bottom line for the U.S. stock market today
Christmas Eve 2025 is shaping up as a classic “light volume, heavy narratives” session: stocks are near highs, the S&P 500 is within striking distance of the psychologically loud 7,000 level, and economic data is strong enough to support earnings optimism while also being strong enough to complicate near-term Fed easing hopes. [25]
If there’s a unifying theme in today’s U.S. stock market news flow, it’s this: the year-end rally is still alive, but it’s increasingly being asked to justify itself in the language of rates, inflation, and concentration risk—one thin holiday session at a time. [26]
References
1. stocktwits.com, 2. www.reuters.com, 3. stocktwits.com, 4. www.nyse.com, 5. www.nyse.com, 6. www.investopedia.com, 7. www.reuters.com, 8. www.reuters.com, 9. www.reuters.com, 10. apnews.com, 11. www.reuters.com, 12. www.reuters.com, 13. www.reuters.com, 14. www.reuters.com, 15. www.novonordisk.com, 16. www.reuters.com, 17. www.reuters.com, 18. www.reuters.com, 19. www.reuters.com, 20. www.reuters.com, 21. www.reuters.com, 22. apnews.com, 23. www.reuters.com, 24. www.reuters.com, 25. www.reuters.com, 26. www.reuters.com
