Alphabet stock drifts lower into year-end as traders eye Fed minutes and key levels

Alphabet stock drifts lower into year-end as traders eye Fed minutes and key levels

NEW YORK, December 28, 2025, 18:50 ET — Market closed

  • Alphabet’s non-voting Class C shares closed Friday at $314.96, down 0.2% in thin post-holiday trading. [1]
  • The Nasdaq slipped 0.09% on Friday as major U.S. indexes hovered near record peaks into the final sessions of 2025. [2]
  • Options activity clustered around the $317.50 call strike, a level traders are watching into Monday’s reopening. [3]

Alphabet’s Class C shares (GOOG) edged down 0.2% to $314.96 on Friday, drifting with a muted pullback in U.S. stocks after the Christmas holiday. [4]

The move matters because the market is entering its final trading days of the year with indexes near record highs and liquidity still thin. Strategists have warned that year-end portfolio adjustments can exaggerate price swings, especially in megacaps. [5]

Investors are also looking to this week’s U.S. data and Federal Reserve communication for direction, with rate expectations shaping valuations for large technology stocks. [6]

On Friday, the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.09%, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.03% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.04%, Reuters reported. [7]

Alphabet traded between $313.72 and $316.56 and finished below Thursday’s $315.67 close, according to Yahoo Finance data. [8]

The stock’s 52-week range is $142.66 to $328.67, according to MarketWatch. [9]

Options trading — contracts that give investors the right to buy or sell a stock at a set price by a certain date — pointed to attention around $317.50. Nasdaq said 10,324 call contracts at that strike expiring Dec. 26 changed hands, representing about 1.0 million underlying shares. [10]

“Momentum is certainly on the side of the bulls,” Paul Nolte, senior wealth adviser and market strategist at Murphy & Sylvest Wealth Management, said in a Reuters report on the week ahead. [11]

The next test comes quickly. Minutes from the Fed’s Dec. 9-10 meeting are scheduled for release at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, according to the central bank’s calendar. [12]

Investors will also watch housing data, including the National Association of Realtors’ pending home sales report for November due Monday at 10 a.m. ET. [13]

Market participants have been tracking whether stocks deliver a “Santa Claus rally,” a seasonal measure based on the last five trading days of December and the first two sessions of January. [14]

Alphabet has tracked broader sentiment toward big technology shares, which Reuters said faced bouts of pressure earlier this month as investors debated whether heavy artificial-intelligence spending would dent profits. [15]

Before Monday’s open, traders will watch whether GOOG can push through the $317.50 area highlighted by call activity after failing to clear $316.56 on Friday. On the downside, Friday’s $313.72 low and the 50-day moving average near $293.73 are levels on charts that often act as support when prices slide. [16]

Alphabet is expected to report results on Feb. 3, according to Yahoo’s earnings calendar, though the date is not company-confirmed. Investors typically focus on advertising demand, cloud growth and management’s commentary on spending plans for AI infrastructure. [17]

References

1. finance.yahoo.com, 2. www.reuters.com, 3. www.nasdaq.com, 4. finance.yahoo.com, 5. www.reuters.com, 6. www.reuters.com, 7. www.reuters.com, 8. finance.yahoo.com, 9. www.marketwatch.com, 10. www.nasdaq.com, 11. www.reuters.com, 12. www.federalreserve.gov, 13. www.nar.realtor, 14. www.reuters.com, 15. www.reuters.com, 16. finance.yahoo.com, 17. finance.yahoo.com

Stock Market Today

  • Sandfire Resources (ASX:SFR) delivers ~31% CAGR over 5 years despite earnings fluctuations
    December 28, 2025, 7:07 PM EST. Sandfire Resources (ASX:SFR) has posted a blistering five-year performance, with a total shareholder return (TSR) of about 282% driven by steady dividends. The share price is up around 234% over five years and 88% in the last year. The five-year annualized return is roughly 31% CAGR, signaling durable demand even as some earnings metrics show volatility. The company has become profitable over the past half-decade and has shown EPS growth along the way, though segments of earnings shrinking have appeared. Analysts are weighing whether revenue growth can sustain momentum. Investors should compare TSR with price performance, and consider dividends and potential growth before acting on ASX:SFR.
Oracle stock holds near $200 as year-end Fed minutes loom and AI spending worries linger
Previous Story

Oracle stock holds near $200 as year-end Fed minutes loom and AI spending worries linger

Netflix stock edges up into year-end as Fed minutes, Warner deal stay in focus
Next Story

Netflix stock edges up into year-end as Fed minutes, Warner deal stay in focus

Go toTop