US stocks dip on penultimate 2025 trading day

Stocks fell slightly on Wall Street Tuesday as trading for 2025 nudges closer to the finish line.

With just one trading day left before the year ends, most big investors have closed out their positions and volume has been thin. Every major index is headed for a double-digit gain for the year.

The S&P 500 fell 9.50 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 6,894.24. Even with three straight days of small losses, the S&P 500 is on track for an annual gain of more than 17 per cent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 94.87 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 48,367.06. The Nasdaq composite fell 55.27 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 23,419.08.

The biggest weights on the market remained technology companies, especially those focused on advancements for artificial intelligence.

Nvidia fell 0.4 per cent and Apple fell 0.2 per cent. Both companies have outsized values that have a greater overall impact on the market’s broader direction.

On the winning side, Facebook parent Meta Platforms rose 1.1 per cent. The company is buying artificial intelligence start-up Manus as it continues an aggressive push to amp up AI offerings across its platforms.

Commodities markets

The more notable action was again in the commodities markets. Gold, silver and copper all resumed their ascent after steep declines a day earlier.

The price of gold rose 1.4 per cent to US$4,386.30 per ounce. Silver prices gained 10.9 per cent. Prices for gold and silver slumped Monday when the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, one of the largest trading floors for commodities, asked traders to put up more cash to make bets on precious metals. Prices for both metals have surged in 2025 on a mix of economic worries and supply deficits.

Copper rose 4.4 per cent and is up more than 40 per cent for the year on strong demand. The base metal is critical to global energy infrastructure, and demand is expected to keep growing as the development of artificial intelligence technology puts more of a strain on data centres and the energy grid.

Crude oil prices were relatively steady. The price of US crude oil fell 0.2 per cent to US$57.95 per barrel. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, was unchanged at US$61.92 per barrel.

Treasury yields were mixed in the bond market. The yield on the 10 year Treasury rose to 4.12 per cent from 4.11 per cent late Monday. The yield on the two year Treasury, which moves more closely with expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do, held steady at 3.45 per cent from late Monday.

Overall, Treasury yields have fallen significantly through the year, partly because of the market’s expectations for a shift in interest rate policy at the Fed. The central bank cut interest rates three times late in 2025, most recently at its meeting earlier in December.

The central bank has been dealing with a more complex economic picture. Consumer confidence has been weakening throughout the year as inflation squeezes consumers and businesses. The continued impact of a wide-ranging US-led trade war threatens to add more fuel to inflation.

Inflation remains stubbornly high while the jobs market slows down. The Fed can cut interest rates to help the economy weather a slower jobs market. But that could add more fuel to inflation that is still solidly above the Fed’s 2 per cent target. Hotter inflation could stunt economic growth.

The Fed has signalled more caution moving forward. Minutes from its December meeting reflect the divisions within the central bank as it deals with uncertainty about the threats facing the economy.

Wall Street is betting that the Fed will hold interest rates steady at its next meeting in January.

US markets will be closed on Thursday for New Year’s Day.

-AP