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U.S. stock markets closed higher on Friday after artificial intelligence (AI) trade regained momentum. Despite overstretched valuation, a large number of economists and financial researchers think that a lot of firing power is left in the AI cylinder. All three major stock indexes ended in positive territory. However, for the week as a whole, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite ended in green while the Dow finished in red.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) advanced 0.4% or 183.04 points to close at 48,134.89. Notably, 18 components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory, while 12 finished in negative territory. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 23,307.62, rising 1.3% or 301.26 points on the strong performance of AI bigwigs.
The S&P 500 gained 0.8% points to finish at 6,834.50. Six out of 11 broad-sectors of the broad-market index ended in positive territory while five ended in negative territory. The technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK), the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) and the Consumer Discretionary Select SPDR (XLY), increased 1.5%, 1.3%, 1.5% and 1%, respectively. On the other hand, the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) decreased 1.5%.
The fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 11.6% to 14.91. A total of 24.60 billion shares were traded on Friday, higher than the last 20-session average of 17.19 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.44-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 1.47-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues.
AI Trade Rebounds
On Dec. 18, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew told employees that the company’s U.S. operations —TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC — will be sold to a new joint venture (JV). The new JV will comprise private equity firm Silver Lake, Abu Dhabi-based MGX and the U.S. RDBMS software giant Oracle Corp. (ORCL - Free Report) . Following the news, the stock price of Oracle climbed 6.6%.
Reuters reported that the Trump administration is considering allowing the generative AI chipset behemoth NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA - Free Report) to sell its high-end H200 AI chips to some “approved customers” in China. As a result, the stock price of NVIDIA rose 3.9%.
Moreover, Micron Technology Inc. (MU - Free Report) jumped 7% as investors continued to price in the company’s solid fiscal first-quarter 2026 earnings results. Management expects even stronger results in fiscal second-quarter 2026.
The University of Michigan reported that the final index for December consumer sentiment came in at 52.9 compared with 51 in November and December’s preliminary index of 53.3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was also 53.5. The current economic condition index for December was 50.4 compared with 51.1 in November. Consumer expectations in December came in at 54.6 compared with 51 in November.
The 1-year short-term inflation expectation fell marginally to 4.2% in December, marking its lowest reading in 11 months. Long-term inflation expectation declined to 3.2% in December from 3.4% in November.
The National Association of REALTORS reported that the existing home sales fell 0.5% to 4.13 million units in November, marginally missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 4.14 million units.
Weekly Roundup
Last week was mixed for Wall Street. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.1% and 0.5%, respectively. On the other hand, the Dow fell 0.7%.
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Stock Market News for Dec 22, 2025
U.S. stock markets closed higher on Friday after artificial intelligence (AI) trade regained momentum. Despite overstretched valuation, a large number of economists and financial researchers think that a lot of firing power is left in the AI cylinder. All three major stock indexes ended in positive territory. However, for the week as a whole, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite ended in green while the Dow finished in red.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) advanced 0.4% or 183.04 points to close at 48,134.89. Notably, 18 components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory, while 12 finished in negative territory. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 23,307.62, rising 1.3% or 301.26 points on the strong performance of AI bigwigs.
The S&P 500 gained 0.8% points to finish at 6,834.50. Six out of 11 broad-sectors of the broad-market index ended in positive territory while five ended in negative territory. The technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK), the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) and the Consumer Discretionary Select SPDR (XLY), increased 1.5%, 1.3%, 1.5% and 1%, respectively. On the other hand, the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) decreased 1.5%.
The fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 11.6% to 14.91. A total of 24.60 billion shares were traded on Friday, higher than the last 20-session average of 17.19 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.44-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 1.47-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues.
AI Trade Rebounds
On Dec. 18, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew told employees that the company’s U.S. operations —TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC — will be sold to a new joint venture (JV). The new JV will comprise private equity firm Silver Lake, Abu Dhabi-based MGX and the U.S. RDBMS software giant Oracle Corp. (ORCL - Free Report) . Following the news, the stock price of Oracle climbed 6.6%.
Reuters reported that the Trump administration is considering allowing the generative AI chipset behemoth NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA - Free Report) to sell its high-end H200 AI chips to some “approved customers” in China. As a result, the stock price of NVIDIA rose 3.9%.
Moreover, Micron Technology Inc. (MU - Free Report) jumped 7% as investors continued to price in the company’s solid fiscal first-quarter 2026 earnings results. Management expects even stronger results in fiscal second-quarter 2026.
NVIDIA and Micron currently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Economic Data
The University of Michigan reported that the final index for December consumer sentiment came in at 52.9 compared with 51 in November and December’s preliminary index of 53.3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was also 53.5. The current economic condition index for December was 50.4 compared with 51.1 in November. Consumer expectations in December came in at 54.6 compared with 51 in November.
The 1-year short-term inflation expectation fell marginally to 4.2% in December, marking its lowest reading in 11 months. Long-term inflation expectation declined to 3.2% in December from 3.4% in November.
The National Association of REALTORS reported that the existing home sales fell 0.5% to 4.13 million units in November, marginally missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 4.14 million units.
Weekly Roundup
Last week was mixed for Wall Street. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.1% and 0.5%, respectively. On the other hand, the Dow fell 0.7%.