US Stock Market Outlook (Dec. 21, 2025): S&P 500 Eyes a Santa Rally as Fed Signals, AI Jitters, and GDP Data Shape Year-End Trading
NEW YORK — The U.S. stock market heads into the final holiday-shortened stretch of 2025 with investors balancing two competing realities: a strong year for major indexes, and a choppier, more skeptical tone beneath the surface as Wall Street debates the durability of the AI-led boom and the next leg of Federal Reserve policy. On Friday’s close (the last full session before Sunday’s outlook pieces), the S&P 500 finished at 6,834.50, the Nasdaq Composite at 23,307.62, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average at 48,134.89. Stocks ended the day higher—helped by a rebound in technology—while the week overall was mixed: the