Overview
- Major indexes are closing 2025 near all-time highs, with the S&P 500 up roughly 17% year to date and the tech sector up about 26%.
- A Motley Fool survey reports 93% of investors who own AI stocks expect to hold or increase those stakes over the next year, even as many label the trend a bubble.
- UBS and Ed Yardeni forecast the S&P 500 around 7,700 in 2026 and contend that recent gains have been powered by earnings rather than pure speculation.
- Valuation risk persists, with the S&P 500 CAPE ratio at 40.59 as of Dec. 23, a level reached mainly during the dot-com peak.
- Nvidia remains central to the trade, rising about 36% through Dec. 23, posting record Q3 revenue of $57 billion, and announcing a $20 billion licensing deal with Groq.