01 Stock Market
The U.S. major indexes closed as follows: Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.20% at 48,367.06; S&P 500 down 0.14% at 6,896.24; Nasdaq Composite down 0.24% at 23,419.08.
Unusual-move stocks were mixed, with precious metals ETFs advancing while several mega caps eased. TSLA down 1.13% at $454.43; NVDA down 0.36% at $187.54; AAPL down 0.25% at $273.08; META up 1.10% at $665.95; MSFT up 0.08% at $487.48; AMZN up 0.20% at $232.53; GOOG up 0.05% at $314.55; AMD down 0.13% at $215.34; MU down 0.59% at $292.63; INTC up 1.69% at $37.30; NFLX down 0.39% at $93.78; ORCL up 0.94% at $197.21; BIDU up 4.39% at $132.38. Precious metals proxies were strong: SLV up 4.50% at $68.98 and AGQ up 9.45% at $182.16. Broad ETFs: SPY down 0.12% at $687.01; QQQ down 0.23% at $619.43; GLD up 0.07% at $398.89. EV ADRs: XPEV up 3.80% at $21.28; NIO up 3.00% at $5.50; space name RKLB up 0.47% at $70.45; crypto-linked COIN down 0.93% at $231.60; semis leverage SOXL down 0.34% at $43.67; TSLL down 2.30% at $19.53; AVGO up 0.13% at $349.85.
Into the close, flows appeared to favor defensives and metals while high-beta tech and leveraged products softened. Silver-linked ETFs’ outperformance suggests hedging into the turn of the year, while several mega caps finished marginally lower. For newer investors: leveraged ETFs (like AGQ, TSLL) amplify both gains and losses; consider position sizing and holding periods carefully, and use diversified ETFs (SPY, QQQ) when seeking broad exposure.
02 Other Markets
U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rose by 0.00%, latest at 4.13.
USD/CNH rose 0.00%, at 7.00;
U.S. Dollar Index fell 0.01%, at 98.22.
WTI crude futures fell 0.07%, at 57.91 USD/bbl; COMEX gold futures fell 0.73%, at 4354.30 USD/oz.
03 Top News
Interest Rates Could Be On Hold "For Some Time," Fed Minutes Show
Some Federal Reserve officials want to keep interest rates unchanged "for some time" after making three rate cuts this year, minutes from the latest Fed meeting showed.
These officials said that pausing would allow policymakers to gauge the impact of the rate cuts on the economy and also to see if inflation will move lower.
Officials want time "to acquire more confidence about inflation," officials said.
Silver Is Trading Like A Meme Stock, Soaring 160% Higher YTD, Largest Annual Climb Since The Inflationary Shock Of 1979
A dizzying year-end rally has pushed silver prices about 160% higher in 2025, their largest annual climb since the inflationary shock of 1979.
The metal's roughly 8% increase Tuesday marked a rebound from Monday, when futures slid almost 8.7% after CME Group increased margin requirements to ensure traders put down more cash on their bets.
The last time silver had a one-day loss as steep as Monday was 2021. The culprit then: A similar move by CME helped cool some of the speculative mania around silver futures, GameStop shares and more that was linked to the online forum WallStreetBets.
