US Stocks Limp Into Year End While Treasury Yields Rise

<p>Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: <a href="http://bit.ly/3vTiACF">http://bit.ly/3vTiACF</a>.<br /><br />Stocks and bonds slipped along with gold and silver on the last day of 2025, bringing a subdued close to an otherwise buoyant year across asset classes that saw US equities post their third straight double-digit gain.<br /><br />The S&amp;P 500 extended a stretch of post-Christmas losses, paring the benchmark&rsquo;s advance for 2025 to roughly 17%. Even so, the index is on track for its longest yearly winning streak of gains since 2021. The Nasdaq 100 was down 0.2%. Laggards include big-tech names like Microsoft Corp., Meta Platforms Inc. and Micron Technology Inc.<br />Silver plunged as a run of heightened volatility featuring price moves of 5% or more entered a fourth day. CME Group raised margin requirements on precious-metal futures for the second time in the space of a week following the volatility.<br /><br />Investors have enjoyed blockbuster returns this year in a market that has been powered by optimism about the vast economic potential of artificial intelligence and primed by Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts. It hasn&rsquo;t been a smooth ride, though, with traders weathering swings triggered by a range of forces including US trade policies, geopolitical tensions, concern over lofty valuations and some uncertainty around the path of central-bank monetary policy.<br /><br />Looking ahead into 2026, market research firm Bespoke Investment Group cautions against expecting solid market performance during the first trading day of the new year. Since 1953, the S&amp;P 500&rsquo;s median change to kick off a new year was a 0.3% drop, according to a note by Bespoke. The stock market has also traded lower on the first trading day of the each of the past three years, the note said.<br /><br />Today's show features:</p> <ul> <li>Mike Green, Chief Strategist and Portfolio Manager for Simplify Asset Management</li> <li>Laura Champine, Director of Research and Consumer Sector Head at Tabor Asset Management,</li> <li>Manos Koukoumidis, CEO of Oumi, on why the AI investing landscape may become more challenged in 2026 and where the US stands its AI arms race with China</li> <li>Ross Gerber, Co-Founder, President and CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, on how the battle for Warner Bros. Discovery will be won</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>