NEW YORK, December 29, 2025, 2:04 PM ET — Regular session
- U.S. stocks eased in afternoon trade as megacap tech pulled back from last week’s gains.
- Nvidia and Tesla led declines, while gold-mining shares slid after the CME raised margin requirements for precious metals.
- DigitalBridge jumped on a SoftBank buyout deal as investors looked ahead to Fed minutes and jobless claims.
Wall Street’s main indexes fell on Monday as heavyweight technology names retreated in the final trading week of the year. The S&P 500 fell about 0.4% and the Nasdaq slid about 0.6%, while the Dow eased about 0.5%.
The pullback comes with just a handful of sessions left in 2025, a stretch when managers often adjust positions for year-end reporting and liquidity thins out. Investors were also watching for a so-called “Santa Claus rally,” the seasonal tendency for the S&P 500 to rise in the last five trading days of the year and the first two of January. MarketScreener+1
Despite Monday’s dip, U.S. stocks remained on track for strong annual gains, after a bull market that began in October 2022 stayed intact through bouts of volatility. The S&P 500 is up about 17% for the year, and the Dow and S&P have been on pace for another monthly advance, according to Reuters and AP reporting.
Technology shares were the main drag as investors trimmed exposure to some of the year’s biggest winners tied to artificial intelligence. Nvidia fell about 1.6% and Tesla slid about 2.6%, while Reuters also noted declines in AI-linked names including Broadcom and Palantir Technologies.
“It’ll turn out to be a buying opportunity,” said Hank Smith, director and head of investment strategy at Haverford Trust, arguing that leading tech companies’ growth and financial strength still support their valuations. MarketScreener
Materials stocks also weighed after a sharp reversal in precious metals. Gold and silver futures fell after CME Group raised margin requirements — the cash traders must post to hold futures positions — following heightened volatility.
Newmont dropped about 6%, reflecting pressure on gold-mining shares as metals prices slid, according to AP reporting.
Energy shares rose as oil prices climbed. U.S. benchmark crude gained about 2.2% to $58 a barrel and Brent rose to about $61.37, with Exxon Mobil up around 1.3%, AP reported.
In corporate deal news, DigitalBridge rose nearly 10% after SoftBank agreed to acquire the digital infrastructure investor in a deal valued at $4 billion, Reuters reported.
In rates, Treasury yields edged lower, with the 10-year yield around 4.11% from 4.13% late Friday, AP reported. The decline in yields has tracked expectations for easier policy after the Federal Reserve cut rates three times in 2025 even as inflation remained above its 2% target.
With the economic calendar otherwise thin, traders were looking ahead to minutes from the Fed’s prior meeting and weekly jobless claims later this week, Reuters said. U.S. markets will be closed Thursday for New Year’s Day.
The cautious tone followed a run that left the S&P 500 within about 1% of the 7,000 mark earlier in the session, a round-number level that tends to attract attention from investors and headline writers alike. Whether late-year flows extend into early January may set the tone for the first sessions of 2026.
