Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market faced a relatively broad pullback to start the final week of 2025 following a solid rally in equities over the Christmas week. 

The S&P 500 (-0.4%) further retreated from Friday's record high level, while the Nasdaq Composite (-0.4%) and DJIA (-0.5%) faced similar pullbacks. 

Despite a lack of directional drivers, mega-cap names saw a fair share of profit-taking on the heels of last week's strength, sending the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF 0.5% lower. 

NVIDIA (NVDA 188.22, -2.31, -1.21%) and Palantir Technologies (PLTR 184.18, -4.53, -2.40%) were among the AI-related leaders that sent the information technology sector (-0.5%) lower, though Micron (MU 294.37, +9.58, +3.36%) continues to shine after its most recent earnings report, with today's steady climb helping the PHLX Semiconductor Index (-0.4%) shed over half of its earlier losses. 

While the broader technology sector would improve through the afternoon, the consumer discretionary sector (-1.0%) remained pinned to session lows. Tesla (TSLA 459.64, -15.55, -3.27%) provided weak mega-cap leadership, with the vast majority of the sector's other components moving lower as well. 

It is not an easy task for the major averages to post gains when the market's largest names lag. That task becomes nearly impossible when the broader market also skews towards the negative. In total, seven S&P 500 sectors would finish lower, with decliners outpacing advancers by a roughly 2-to-1 ratio on both the NYSE and the Nasdaq. 

The materials sector (-1.0%) tied for the widest loss, moving lower as metal prices slipped from last week's record high levels. Gold settled today's session $205.80 lower (-4.5%) at $4,345.50/ozt
while silver settled today's session $6.69 lower (-8.7%) at $70.52/ozt. 

Newmont Corporation (NEM 99.81, -5.97, -5.64%), which has rallied amid the push to record highs for precious metals, was the worst-performing S&P 500 name today. 

Meanwhile, the energy sector (+1.0%) posted the only real gain of note today, supported by crude oil futures settling today's session $1.42 higher (+2.5%) at $58.10 per barrel.

The defensive utilities (+0.2%) and consumer staples (+0.1%) sectors captured slight gains amid the underperformance in growth names, while the real estate sector (+0.2%) notched a similar gain. 

The market was relatively starved of corporate developments today, though a fair share of geopolitical headlines crossed the wires. 

While White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a productive call in regard to ending the war in Ukraine, Bloomberg reported that Putin told President Trump Russia will revise its negotiating position, raising questions over prospects for a peace deal. The situation remains touchy, and the lack of a clear resolution likely contributed to rising oil prices today. 

Meanwhile, Bloomberg also reported that China is conducting military operations around Taiwan.

To top things off, President Trump told reporters that if Iran is building up its nuclear program, the U.S. will have to "knock them down" again.

It is unclear how much today's geopolitical developments contributed to market weakness, as equities appeared due for a pullback following last week's record-high advance that occurred amid a relatively light catalyst backdrop. With little in the way of fresh catalysts to counter profit-taking pressure, the market struggled to find its footing. However, the major averages remain positioned near record-high levels, and there are still several sessions remaining in the historical Santa Claus rally period that has generally been very supportive of equities. 

U.S. Treasuries began the last week of December on a modestly higher, but generally sleepy, note. The 2-year note yield settled down two basis points to 3.46%, and the 10-year note yield settled down two basis points to 4.12%.

• Nasdaq Composite: +21.6% YTD
• S&P 500: +17.4% YTD
• DJIA: +13.9% YTD
• Russell 2000: +13.0% YTD
• S&P Mid Cap 400: +7.4% YTD

Reviewing today's data:

• Pending Home Sales rose 3.3% month-over-month in November (Briefing.com consensus 0.9%) after increasing a revised 2.4% (from 1.9%) in September.