Overview
- U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Dec. 31, leaving the S&P 500 on track for a fourth straight daily decline even as it locks in a third year of double‑digit gains.
- An AI-driven advance defined 2025, with chipmakers and data‑infrastructure groups leading and data‑storage names ranking among the S&P 500’s top performers.
- Major cloud providers have reportedly pledged more than $440 billion over the next year to expand AI capacity, lifting suppliers tied to data centers and storage.
- Initial jobless claims fell by 16,000 to 199,000 in the week ended Dec. 27 and continuing claims slipped to 1.866 million, extending a multiweek decline.
- Gold and silver retreated after another CME margin increase following record highs, while Nvidia rose on a larger TSMC order tied to demand for its H200 AI chip.