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Wall Street Holds Steady as S&P 500 Hits Record Ahead of Christmas Break

Market Snapshot – December 24, 2025 Dow Jones Futures: Flat at 48,735 points S&P 500 Futures: Near 6,957 points, little changed after Tuesday’s record close Nasdaq 100 Futures: Slight dip of 0.1% to 25,796.5 points S&P 500 Index: Closed Tuesday at 6,909, its latest all-time high Key Drivers Robust economic growth continues to fuel investor optimism. Seasonal “Santa Claus rally” has lifted stocks for four consecutive sessions. Markets will close early today at 1 p.m. EST and remain shut tomorrow for Christmas Day. Traders remain cautious about inflation and potential Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2026. Quick Take Wall Street enters the holiday season on a high note, with the S&P 500 near the 7,000 mark and futures showing little movement. The shortened trading session means liquidity will be thin, amplifying small moves. Still, the overall tone remains upbeat, with investors betting that the year-end rally will carry into the final days of 2025.
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Asian shares rise after Wall Street gains; Tokyo slips

Asian markets were mostly higher on Thursday, following modest gains on Wall Street in a holiday-shortened week. Tokyo was an exception, as investors weighed the prospects of a policy shift by the Bank of Japan.

The Nikkei 225 index fell 0.4% to 33,539.62, while other major regional benchmarks rose more than 1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index surged 2.7%, led by technology and property shares. The Shanghai Composite index gained 1.4% and South Korea’s Kospi added 1.6%.

U.S. futures edged higher and oil prices were mixed. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 4,781.58 on Wednesday, up 24% for the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, to close at 37,656.52. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.2% to 15,099.18, outpacing other major indexes with a gain of 44% this year.

Trading was subdued with two trading days left in the year. The S&P 500 is coming of its eight straight winning week and is hovering just below its all-time high set in January of 2022.

Investors are looking ahead to the next year, when the Federal Reserve is expected to start raising interest rates to combat inflation. The Fed has signaled that it will hike rates three times in 2024, but some analysts think it may need to move faster and more aggressively.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan is facing pressure to ease its ultra-loose monetary policy and raise its key interest rate from minus 0.1%. The BOJ has been keeping credit cheap to support the economy, but some economists argue that negative rates are hurting banks and consumers. The BOJ is waiting to see what kind of wage gains might come in 2024 as part of its strategy.

In other news, online food delivery company Meituan rose 6.8% in Hong Kong, despite a lawsuit filed against it by a U.S. company for allegedly selling counterfeit versions of Squishmallow plush toys. Ecommerce giant Alibaba gained 2.9%, even as a court in New York refused to dismiss the case. Shares in struggling developer Country Garden Holdings jumped 6.9%, as property stocks rebounded from recent losses.



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