Stocks Struggle for Direction as Silver Rebounds: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — Stocks struggled to find momentum amid a lack of catalysts in the final trading days of the year. Silver and gold regained their footing after a plunge from all-time highs.

S&P 500 futures were little changed after the US benchmark posted back-to-back losses. Gauges for European and Asian equities saw modest moves. In a notable development in currency markets, China’s onshore yuan strengthened past the key 7-per-dollar level for the first time since 2023.

Tuesday marks the last trading session of the year for several equity markets, including Germany, Japan and South Korea. Focus will later shift to the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s December meeting, where it delivered a third consecutive interest-rate cut and maintained its outlook for just one reduction in 2026.

Despite the lackluster moves, global equities remained on track for a third straight annual gain. Up around 21% in 2025, MSCI Inc.’s world gauge is set for its best performance since 2019.

“The pullback looks like healthy consolidation rather than a change in trend,” said Mohit Mirpuri, a senior partner at SGMC Capital in Singapore.

Investors have reasons to be optimistic heading into the new year, if history is any guide. The gauge has climbed an average 1.4% in the last 10 January months, advancing in six of the instances, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Silver, Gold

Precious metals continued to be a focus for investors, after trading turned volatile following their relentless rally in 2025. Silver rebounded about 2.9% on Tuesday after tumbling 9% in the previous session. Gold was up 0.6% after losing more than 4% on Monday.

Among other metals, copper headed for the longest winning run since 2017 in a December rally boosted by the prospect of more stress in the supply chain. Nickel hit the highest since March after top producer Indonesia flagged plans to cut supply in order to boost prices.

Meantime, President Donald Trump said that he has a preferred candidate to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve, but is in no hurry to make an announcement — while also musing that he might fire the central bank’s current leader, Jerome Powell.

Investors were also assessing the outlook for US interest rates and monetary policy. Wall Street rate strategists — with several notable exceptions — expect stable-to-higher Treasury yields in 2026 despite Fed cuts.

Elsewhere in markets, Bitcoin fluctuated. The cryptocurrency topped $90,000 in the last session before erasing its gain. A gauge of the dollar edged lower. Oil held a gain as traders weighed geopolitical tensions from Venezuela to Russia and Iran against concerns about a glut.

Corporate Highlights:

Shares of biotech startup Insilico Medicine Cayman TopCo, which uses AI to improve drug discovery, surged as much as 48% in their trading debut in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Pop Mart International Group Ltd. shares slid the most in three weeks after media reports of waning reseller demand for its Labubu toys dented investor sentiment. Citigroup Inc. said it expects to post a roughly $1.1 billion after-tax loss on the sale of its remaining business in Russia to Renaissance Capital. Stocks

The Stoxx Europe 600 was little changed as of 8:21 a.m. London time S&P 500 futures were little changed Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.1% The MSCI Emerging Markets Index was little changed Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1769 The Japanese yen was little changed at 155.94 per dollar The offshore yuan rose 0.2% to 6.9840 per dollar The British pound was little changed at $1.3508 Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin rose 0.6% to $87,757.29 Ether rose 1.5% to $2,976.84 Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 4.12% Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 2.84% Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.49% Commodities

Brent crude was little changed Spot gold rose 0.7% to $4,362.93 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Abhishek Vishnoi and Nicholas Reynolds.

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.