Bitcoin Rout Drags Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Lower as Cyber Monday Spending Hits Records

NEW YORK — December 2, 2025 — The first trading day of December ended on a sour note for Wall Street as a sharp bitcoin sell-off, rising bond yields and weak U.S. manufacturing data pulled major stock indices lower, even while holiday shoppers pushed Cyber Monday spending toward record territory. ^[1]

Wall Street breaks its winning streak

U.S. stocks snapped a five-session winning streak on Monday, December 1, with all three major benchmarks closing in the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 427 points, or about 0.9%, to 47,289.33. The S&P 500 lost 0.5% to finish at 6,812.63, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite slipped 0.4% to 23,275.92. ^[2]

The retreat comes after a powerful late‑November rally fueled by hopes that the Federal Reserve is about to pivot from raising interest rates to cutting them. Futures markets now imply roughly an 85% probability that the Fed will trim its benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage points at its meeting ending December 10, underscoring investor confidence that policymakers are preparing to support a cooling labor market. ^[3]

Even so, Monday’s losses show how fragile that optimism remains. Trading volume on U.S. exchanges was below the recent 20‑day average, but decliners outnumbered advancers by nearly two-to-one on the New York Stock Exchange and by more than two-to-one on the Nasdaq — a sign that weakness was broad-based rather than confined to a handful of sectors. ^[4]

Bond yields climb despite looming Fed cuts

The biggest headwind for stocks was the bond market. The yield on the 10‑year U.S. Treasury note rose to about 4.09% from 4.02% at the end of last week, part of a global climb in longer-term yields that makes everything from stocks to cryptocurrencies less attractive relative to safer government debt. ^[5]

A key catalyst came from overseas. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda signaled that conditions are aligning for the central bank to lift its benchmark rate from near zero as early as this month, a potentially historic move after years of ultra‑easy policy. That talk pushed Japanese government bond yields higher and rippled through global fixed-income markets, nudging U.S. yields up as well. ^[6]

Higher yields hit so‑called “bond proxy” sectors such as utilities and real estate investment trusts, which often trade like long-duration bonds because of their steady dividends. They also exert particular pressure on high‑valuation growth stocks and speculative assets — including the cryptocurrency complex, which became the epicenter of Monday’s sell‑off. ^[7]

Manufacturing stumbles and tariffs linger in the background

Fresh economic data offered little comfort. The Institute for Supply Management reported that U.S. manufacturing contracted for a ninth straight month in November, as factories struggled with weak new orders and lingering cost pressures tied to tariffs. Many manufacturers told surveyors that trade barriers continue to snarl supply chains and planning, with some describing today’s environment as even more challenging than during the early-pandemic period. ^[8]

Investors are acutely aware that tariff policy remains a flashpoint. In October, U.S. stocks suffered their worst day since April after former President Donald Trump threatened to sharply increase tariffs on Chinese imports, sending the S&P 500 down 2.7%, the Dow off 1.9% and the Nasdaq tumbling 3.6% in a single session. ^[9]

That history helps explain why markets now react so sensitively to any sign that trade frictions, particularly with China, could deepen an already fragile manufacturing downturn. Monday’s data reinforced concerns that industrial America is struggling even as consumer spending remains resilient. ^[10]

Bitcoin’s slide puts crypto on the market’s “naughty list”

The clearest symbol of risk aversion was bitcoin. The world’s largest cryptocurrency briefly plunged nearly 12% intraday on Monday before closing down about 5.6%, just above $85,000. That leaves bitcoin roughly one‑third below its all-time high near $126,210 set on October 6, erasing a large portion of the gains it made earlier this year on hopes of friendlier regulation and broader adoption. ^[11]

Companies tethered to digital assets were hit even harder. Coinbase Global fell about 4.8%, Robinhood Markets lost 4.1%, and bitcoin miner Riot Platforms slipped around 4%. Shares of Strategy — the rebranded company formerly known as MicroStrategy and one of the largest corporate holders of bitcoin — dropped 3.3% after tumbling as much as 12% earlier in the day. Strategy now reports holdings of about 649,870 bitcoin, worth roughly $55.7 billion at Monday’s closing price. ^[12]

In a sign of how quickly sentiment has shifted, Strategy cut its year‑end bitcoin price outlook to a range of $85,000 to $110,000, down from a previous forecast of $150,000 issued at the end of October. Meanwhile, data from Morningstar show that spot bitcoin exchange‑traded funds suffered about $3.6 billion in net outflows in November — the largest monthly exodus since those products launched in early 2024. ^[13]

Analysts point to a mix of factors behind the downturn: stretched valuations after a long rally, a broader risk‑off mood tied to higher bond yields, institutional investors taking profits and lingering regulatory uncertainty as lawmakers debate new crypto rules in Washington. Some strategists warn that if the slide deepens, talk of a renewed “crypto winter” is likely to grow louder. ^[14]

The mood was captured succinctly in CNBC’s “Daily Open” newsletter, which said markets stumbled on the second day of December after being tripped up by the cryptocurrency rout — putting crypto “on the market’s naughty list” just as the holiday season kicks into high gear. ^[15]

Trump‑linked crypto ventures feel the pain

The crypto crash also reverberated through politically connected digital asset plays. American Bitcoin, a company in which Donald Trump’s sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. hold stakes, sank about 15.6% on Monday and is now down nearly 47% since the end of September. ^[16]

Other Trump‑related tokens have slid as well. The market value of World Liberty Financial’s $WLFI token has dropped from above $6 billion in mid‑September to roughly $4.1 billion, while a meme coin named after the former president, $TRUMP, has fallen to a small fraction of its price around his inauguration. ^[17]

These high‑profile losses highlight the speculative excesses that built up in crypto over the past year — and the political and regulatory scrutiny that often follows when retail investors are left holding the bag. For regulators weighing new rules and for investors reassessing risk, Monday’s session underscored how intertwined digital assets have become with the broader market narrative. ^[18]

Asian markets rebound after Wall Street’s pullback

While Wall Street slipped, Asian equities started Tuesday on a much firmer footing. Major benchmarks across the region mostly advanced, suggesting investors view Monday’s U.S. stumble as a setback rather than the start of a prolonged downturn. ^[19]

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.5% to 49,534.36, led by financial stocks that stand to benefit if the Bank of Japan does move ahead with a rate hike later this month. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 0.7% to 26,209.07, even as mainland China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 0.3% to 3,902.78. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.2%, South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.5% — buoyed by gains in chipmakers such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix — and Taiwan’s Taiex gained 1%. India’s Sensex edged 0.1% lower. ^[20]

The rebound suggests that, for now, global investors are willing to look past a single down day in U.S. stocks and focus instead on the prospect of Fed easing and steady global growth in 2026. But the same forces roiling Wall Street — higher bond yields and questions about how quickly central banks will cut rates — are very much in play across Asia and Europe as well. ^[21]

Holiday shopping stays hot: Cyber Monday aims for records

If the manufacturing side of the economy looks wobbly, the U.S. consumer is still spending. Cyber Monday 2025 capped a five‑day online shopping spree that began on Thanksgiving with robust sales. Adobe Analytics estimated by Monday evening that Americans had already spent $9.1 billion online, on pace for a record $13.9 billion to $14.2 billion in total Cyber Monday sales — up about 6% from last year. ^[22]

Globally, online sales on Cyber Monday were projected to reach about $17.3 billion, with the broader Black Friday weekend expected to generate roughly $52.7 billion in e‑commerce revenue, according to Salesforce data. ^[23]

The strong Cyber Monday numbers build on record Black Friday online spending of $11.8 billion in the U.S., as shoppers chased deep discounts on electronics, apparel and computers. Analysts say artificial-intelligence shopping tools — from recommendation engines to automated deal-finders — are driving a surge in AI‑powered retail traffic, helping consumers compare prices across sites in seconds. Adobe expects AI-driven visits to retail sites this season to be several times higher than last year. ^[24]

At the stock level, investors’ reaction to the shopping boom was mixed. Walmart and Target shares each gained less than 1%, and the S&P 500 retail index edged up about 0.2%. Upscale home goods chain Williams‑Sonoma rose roughly 1.3%, while Best Buy slid 2.6%, suggesting expectations for electronics margins and demand remain a bit fragile. ^[25]

Elsewhere in e‑commerce, Shopify reported a record $6.2 billion in Black Friday gross merchandise volume — up 25% year‑on‑year — but its stock fell more than 4% on Cyber Monday after a partial outage affected merchant logins and point‑of‑sale systems, reminding investors that operational hiccups can quickly sour the narrative even for high‑growth platforms. ^[26]

AI still shines: Nvidia and Synopsys buck the downturn

Even on a down day, artificial intelligence remained a bright spot. Synopsys — a key provider of chip design software — rallied about 4.9% after AI chip giant Nvidia disclosed a $2 billion investment and an expanded partnership between the two companies. Nvidia shares, which initially traded lower along with broader tech, reversed to close up around 1.6%. ^[27]

The move underscores how central Nvidia has become to the entire market. Thanks to its massive market capitalization, the stock can single‑handedly sway the direction of the S&P 500 on some days. Earlier in November, worries that Nvidia, bitcoin and other high‑flying names had become too expensive sparked several sharp pullbacks, even as indices hovered near record highs. ^[28]

For long‑term investors, Monday’s action was another reminder that AI‑linked names can both cushion and amplify market swings — providing upside leadership when sentiment is strong but also adding volatility when enthusiasm cools.

What markets are watching next

With December just underway, investors now face a dense calendar of potential catalysts:

Federal Reserve meeting (December 10): Futures markets nearly fully price in a rate cut, but any hint that the Fed may move more slowly — or that inflation risks remain elevated — could test the resilience of the year‑long equity rally. ^[29]
Key inflation data: A delayed reading on the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, is due later this week and will help shape expectations for the pace of future rate cuts. ^[30]
Bank of Japan decision: Markets will be watching whether Tokyo finally begins to normalize interest rates after years of ultra‑loose policy, a shift that could reverberate across global bond and currency markets. ^[31]
Trade and tariff headlines: Any new signals on U.S.–China trade policy — including renewed tariff threats reminiscent of those that triggered October’s sell‑off — could quickly reprice risk assets, particularly in manufacturing and export‑sensitive sectors. ^[32]
Crypto’s next move: After a nearly two‑month slide and the latest plunge below $85,000, bitcoin is at a critical juncture. A stabilization could ease pressure on crypto‑linked stocks and broader risk sentiment, while further steep declines might solidify the narrative of another crypto winter and drive more money into havens like bonds and gold. ^[33]

For now, December is living up to its reputation as a volatile month. Stocks remain not far from record highs, the U.S. consumer is still spending freely online, and AI‑driven winners like Nvidia and Synopsys continue to attract capital. Yet Monday’s slide — led by a bruising day for bitcoin and its ecosystem — is a reminder that in a world of higher yields, slowing factories and unresolved trade tensions, the line between “Santa rally” and “naughty list” can be thin.