NEW YORK, December 28, 2025, 23:13 ET — Market closed
- Western Digital shares last closed up 1.1% on Friday, outpacing a flat U.S. market. 1
- Investors head into the final trading days of 2025 watching U.S. data and Fed minutes, with AI-linked hardware still a crowded theme. 2
- The stock is within striking distance of its recent 52-week high, a level traders are tracking into Monday’s open. 1
Western Digital shares ended the last U.S. session higher, closing up 1.1% at $181.54 on Friday. 1
The move matters into the final stretch of the year because investors have leaned into “picks-and-shovels” hardware tied to artificial intelligence, where storage demand rises as data-center capacity expands. 3
Markets also face a year-end run of U.S. economic releases and Federal Reserve minutes that can swing interest-rate expectations, a key input for tech-heavy trades. 2
Western Digital outperformed a mostly flat tape on Friday, when the S&P 500 slipped 0.03% and the Dow fell 0.04%, MarketWatch data showed. 1
Peers also firmed, with Seagate Technology up 0.33% and NetApp up 0.41% on the day, the report showed. 1
Trading was light, with about 3.1 million shares changing hands, well below the stock’s 50-day average volume of 9.1 million, according to MarketWatch. 1
Western Digital finished about 3.8% below its 52-week high of $188.77, a reference point for traders looking at whether the stock can retest recent peaks. 1
The bigger backdrop has been a sharp rally in storage names as companies race to build out AI infrastructure, which needs both chips and high-capacity drives to store and move data. 3
“The fact that WDC has secured purchase orders extending through CY26 with five of its largest customers is a clear indication” that buyers do not want to fall short on capacity, J.P. Morgan analysts wrote in an Oct. 31 note. 3
“If you went back twelve months … they wouldn’t have talked about hard disks,” said Martin Frandsen, a portfolio manager at Principal Asset Management, in comments reported by Reuters. 3
Before Monday’s open, U.S. stock futures were little changed late Sunday as investors looked to finish 2025 on a strong footing, MarketWatch reported. 4
On Monday, investors will parse the pending home sales index for November at 10:00 a.m. ET, along with other data including advance trade figures and the Dallas Fed manufacturing survey, according to the New York Fed’s calendar. 5
Attention then shifts to Tuesday’s release of minutes from the Fed’s December meeting — a detailed record of policymakers’ debate — along with housing and regional activity gauges, Barron’s said. 2
For Western Digital, the next major company catalyst is its next quarterly update, with Wall Street calendars pointing to early February; Zacks lists Feb. 4 as the expected date. 6
With markets heading into holiday-thinned sessions and a New Year’s Day closure, investors will also watch whether lighter liquidity amplifies swings in high-momentum hardware names. 2
