This week, which stocks lagged or dragged? Weekly Winners column keeps up with market trends, helping Tigers sort out the week's hottest sectors, stock winners and important news.
Below are top 10 S&P 500 stock gainers for the week ended Dec. 26:
Freeport-McMoRan Shares Jump as Copper Hits Record in China, Jumps in New York on Supply Concern
Freeport-McMoRan shares jumped 7.9% this week.
Copper surged to a record in Shanghai and rallied in New York, adding to substantial annual gains as investors bet on tighter global supplies in 2026, while also pricing in the impact of a weaker US dollar.
Metals have made big gains in December, rounding off a year in which trade dislocations, geopolitical uncertainties, and supply shocks have combined to shake up the industry. On the demand side, copper is expected to be a major beneficiary of the world’s energy transition, helping to make it one of biggest winners in 2025, with a gain of more than 42% in New York.
Micron and Sandisk Jump as Memory, Server Components Continue to Show Strength
Micron Technology shares jumped 7.1% this week, and its peer SanDisk gained 5.2%.
After the release of November monthly sales from several Taiwan-based tech suppliers, investment firm Wedbush Securities said server and memory components continued to show exceptional strength.
Micron, Samsung, SK hynix, and Sandisk are the leading providers of memory chips.
Qnity Electronics Shares Gain About 6%
Qnity Electronics shares gained 5.7% this week.
DuPont de Nemours completed the spinoff of its Electronics business, Qnity, on Nov. 1, concluding a decade of transactions.
Qnity Electronics raised its quarterly dividend by 33% to 8 cents a share from 6 cents in the previous quarter.
Merck Shares Rise as Investors Gain Confidence in Its Product Pipeline and Operations
Merck shares rose 5.6% this week, signaling investor confidence and potential growth in its pipeline and business operations.
In other recent news, Merck announced positive results from its Phase 3 KEYNOTE-B15 trial, which showed that the combination of KEYTRUDA and Padcev significantly improved survival outcomes for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. This development highlights Merck’s ongoing efforts in cancer treatment innovation. Additionally, Merck has struck a deal with the Trump administration to make certain medications, including diabetes treatments JANUVIA, JANUMET, and JANUMET XR, available at reduced prices for eligible patients. This agreement aims to increase the affordability of essential drugs for Americans.
Furthermore, BMO Capital recently upgraded Merck’s stock rating to Outperform, citing confidence in the company’s strategy to tackle upcoming patent challenges, particularly the loss of exclusivity for Keytruda in 2028.
A Deal With Groq Is Lifting Nvidia's Stock as 2025 Approaches
Nvidia shares jumped 5.3% this week.
Nvidia has agreed to license chip technology from startup Groq and hire away its CEO, a veteran of Alphabet's Google, Groq said in a blog post on Wednesday.
The deal follows a familiar pattern in recent years where the world's biggest technology firms pay large sums in deals with promising startups to take their technology and talent but stop short of formally acquiring the target.
Citigroup Stock Gains as Regulators Ease Oversight and Wall Street Updates 2026 Outlook
Citigroup shares rose 6% this week, extending a powerful 2025 rally that has been driven by a mix of turnaround execution, capital return, and—most recently—regulatory overhang starting to lift.
A key near-term narrative driver has been a Reuters report that the U.S. Federal Reserve terminated formal supervisory notices (MRIAs) that had been issued to Citi in late 2023, related to deficiencies in aspects of the bank’s trading risk management. The action is widely being read as incremental confirmation that Citi’s control remediation is producing measurable progress.
Nucor and Newmont Rise as Gold and Silver Smash Records
Nucor and Newmont rose 4.5% and 4.4% this week, respectively.
The run-up in precious metals broke new ground Friday, as front-month silver futures surged 7.7% to nearly $76.49/oz, extending a record run that has more than doubled prices this year, while gold futures also hit records, rising 1.1% to $4,529.10/oz.
One factor boosting safe-haven precious metals has been escalating geopolitical tensions, as the U.S. struck ISIS targets in Nigeria in a Christmas Day bombing and is chasing a runaway oil tanker in the Atlantic, part of the Trump administration's blockade of sanctioned oil tankers entering and exiting Venezuelan waters.
Also, hostilities between Russia and Ukraine remain elevated despite peace negotiations, and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said this week that Israel was watching Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran as they rearm and would act if necessary.
