Stocks Waver in 2025’s Last Days; Treasuries Fall: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Stocks fluctuated given a lack of major catalysts in the final trading days of the year. Silver and gold regained their footing after a plunge from all-time highs.
The S&P 500 kicked off the session little changed after back-to-back losses. Treasuries fell across the curve, with the US 10-year yield rising two basis points to 4.13%. The Bloomberg dollar index held steady.
Global equities are on track for a third straight annual gain in a year when European and Asian stocks trounced the S&P 500. With news flow and trading volumes generally low, investors on Tuesday will focus on the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s December meeting for clues about 2026’s interest-rate path. Traders also parsed data showing home-price growth in the US ticked up in October.
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. A gauge of Asian shares nudged lower, European stocks jumped as rising metal prices boosted miners.
Tuesday marks the last trading session of the year for many equity markets, including Germany, Japan and South Korea.
“The overriding theme is that global stock indices have lost momentum into year-end,” wrote Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB. “There are plenty of reasons for this, including decent returns for 2025, and investors waiting to make big trading decisions until after the Christmas break.”
Still, investors have reason to be optimistic heading into the new year. MSCI’s gauge for global stocks has climbed an average 1.4% in January over the last 10 years and advanced in six of those instances, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
While tariffs and shaky consumer confidence continue to create headwinds for corporate America, they’re set to lift earnings growth for US materials stocks to the highest in five years. Constituents active in the metals and packaging industries are set to get the biggest lift, as trade protections strengthen steel prices and a volume play by consumer goods makers is driving demand for everything from cereal boxes to soda cans.
Silver, Gold
Precious metals continued to be in focus after trading turned volatile in the last few days. Silver rebounded more than 5% after tumbling in the previous session. Gold was up 1.3% after losing more than 4%.
Among other metals, copper headed for the longest winning streak since 2017 in a 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.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said that he has a preferred candidate to be the next chair of the Fed, but is in no hurry to make an announcement. He also mused that he might fire Jerome Powell.
What Bloomberg strategists say…
“Traders are happy to endorse the shift in the Federal Reserve’s focus from inflation to its employment mandate. Market expectations for US CPI in the next 12 months have fallen back into line with the long-term outlook. It does suggest that inflation expectations are well anchored, which will allow policy makers to worry more about the fragile labor market.”
— Sebastian Boyd, Macro Strategist, Markets Live. For the full analysis, click here.
Corporate Highlights:
Tesla Inc. published a compilation of analyst estimates for vehicle deliveries to its website, and the averages for the current quarter are more pessimistic than those gathered by Bloomberg. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is co-leading financing for a Texas project to build private power campuses for artificial intelligence. Meta Platforms Inc. has agreed to buy Manus, a popular Singapore-based artificial intelligence agent with Chinese roots, in its effort to build a business around its massive AI investment. 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. 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. Stocks
The S&P 500 was little changed as of 9:30 a.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.1% The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.6% The MSCI World Index was little changed Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro fell 0.1% to $1.1760 The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.3478 The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 156.26 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 0.8% to $87,879.43 Ether rose 0.9% to $2,959.77 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 4.13% Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 2.86% Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.49% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.5% to $58.39 a barrel Spot gold rose 1.3% to $4,388.50 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Shikhar Balwani.
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
