NEW YORK, December 29, 2025, 13:59 ET — Regular session.
- Dow down about 0.4% in afternoon trade, led by declines in Nvidia and big financials
- Energy shares firmer on higher oil, while precious metals’ retreat hit materials
- Traders looking to Fed minutes on Tuesday and jobless claims later this week
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell on Monday afternoon as investors pared back positions in technology-linked names and banks in the final trading days of 2025.
The move matters because year-end rebalancing and lighter holiday liquidity can amplify swings, with U.S. markets set to close on Thursday for New Year’s Day.
The pullback also tests hopes for a “Santa Claus rally” — a seasonal stretch when stocks often rise over the last five sessions of the year and the first two of the next — after major indexes pushed toward fresh milestones this month.
By about 1:47 p.m. ET, the Dow was down 204 points, or 0.4%, at 48,506.58, versus Friday’s close of 48,710.97, according to MarketScreener data ( Marketscreener).
The broader market was also lower, with the S&P 500 down 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite off 0.6% at the same time, MarketScreener showed.
Nvidia fell about 1.6% and was among the biggest drags on the price-weighted Dow, where higher-priced stocks have an outsized impact on the index. Goldman Sachs was down about 1.1%, while JPMorgan, American Express and Home Depot also weighed.
“This is (not) the beginning of the end of the tech dominance, it’ll turn out to be a buying opportunity,” said Hank Smith, director and head of investment strategy at Haverford Trust, in comments reported by Reuters ( Reuters).
Energy stocks were among the brighter spots after oil prices rose about 2%, helping lift names such as Chevron and Exxon Mobil in a session otherwise dominated by profit-taking.
Materials lagged as gold and silver slid sharply from recent highs. The CME said it raised margin requirements for precious metals — the cash traders must post to hold positions — a move that can force investors to cut exposure quickly.
Bond yields eased, with the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield around 4.11% in afternoon trading, according to an Associated Press report, as traders recalibrated expectations for the path of U.S. rates ( Apnews).
The next test for risk assets comes Tuesday with minutes from the Federal Reserve’s Dec. 9–10 meeting. Investors will scan them for clues on the outlook after the central bank cut rates by 75 basis points — three quarters of a percentage point — over its last three meetings of 2025, Reuters reported in a week-ahead piece ( Reuters).
Even with Monday’s dip, the Dow remained up about 14% for the year, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were up roughly 18% and 22%, respectively, keeping attention on whether late-year selling stays contained.
With just two regular sessions left after Monday and volumes expected to stay thin, traders are watching for any stabilization in heavyweight tech and for Thursday’s holiday closure to accelerate “window dressing” — last-minute portfolio tweaks aimed at polishing year-end holdings.
