NEW YORK, December 29, 2025, 20:35 ET — Market closed.
- Merck shares last traded down about 0.1% at $106.62 after a muted session.
- U.S. stocks ended lower in thin year-end trading, with Treasury yields easing.
- Investors are looking to Merck’s Feb. 3 earnings call for 2026 guidance and pipeline updates.
Merck & Co (MRK) shares eased on Monday, last trading down about 0.1% at $106.62 after ranging between $106.44 and $107.56. Trading volume was about 8.1 million shares.
The small move mattered mainly for timing. With the final three sessions of 2025 ahead, investors have been rebalancing portfolios in light holiday volume, a stretch that can exaggerate moves even in large, liquid names.
Merck is also a bellwether for big-cap pharmaceuticals, a group investors often treat as “defensive” — stocks that can hold up better when growth shares wobble — because of steadier cash flows and dividends.
On Wall Street, the Dow fell 0.51%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.35% and the Nasdaq dropped 0.50% as a broad selloff outweighed pockets of strength in defensive areas. “In light volume trading, we’re seeing a reversal of what we saw over the last couple of days,” said Rob Haworth, a senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield — the interest rate investors demand to hold the benchmark government note — fell to about 4.106% from 4.134% late Friday. Reuters
For Merck investors, attention is shifting from the tape to the calendar. The company has scheduled its fourth-quarter earnings call for Feb. 3 at 9 a.m. ET, according to its investor-relations website. Merck.com
Merck’s last major update came with its Oct. 30 third-quarter report, when it raised and narrowed its 2025 non-GAAP earnings forecast and said it expected 2025 sales of $64.5 billion to $65.0 billion, as Keytruda and Gardasil remained key drivers. Merck.com
Heading into those results, traders are likely to focus on any fresh color around demand trends for Merck’s top franchises, the pace of newer launches, and how management frames 2026 growth as the industry enters a new year of policy and pricing uncertainty.
Before the next session, investors will also be watching the holiday-week schedule itself. U.S. stock markets are set to stay open on Dec. 31 but will be closed on Jan. 1, while the bond market is expected to close early at 2 p.m. ET on Dec. 31. MarketWatch
The macro backdrop could still sway trading: investors are set to parse home-price data and business surveys on Tuesday, and weekly jobless claims on Wednesday, before the focus turns to early-January labor-market releases such as the U.S. employment report on Jan. 9. MarketWatch+2MarketWatch+2
On the chart, traders noted support near Monday’s $106.44 low and resistance around $107.56, the session high. A break on either side could shape positioning into year-end, with Merck’s Feb. 3 report looming as the next company-specific test.
