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(Bloomberg) — US stocks wavered near a record high in thin holiday trading, as yields on 10-year Treasuries bounced and investors shifted attention toward commodities. Nvidia Corp. climbed as analysts viewed a licensing deal with artificial intelligence startup Groq positively.
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The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 were both trading little changed at 12:32 p.m. in New York. Among S&P 500 sectors, materials and tech led gains, while consumer staples and energy retreated.
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Optimism remains anchored to seasonal patterns. Equity bulls are increasingly focused on a so-called Santa Claus Rally — the stretch covering the final trading sessions of the year and the first two of January — as a potential catalyst for further gains, even as enthusiasm around AI and the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate outlook comes under greater scrutiny.
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“Markets remain constructive but selective with the final four sessions to go,” Piper Sandler Chief Market Technician Craig Johnson wrote in a note. “The combination of improving breadth and easing inflation supports the call for a Santa Claus rally into year-end.”
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Precious metals surged to fresh records, extending a powerful year-end rally fueled by rising geopolitical tensions and a softer US dollar. Gold, silver and platinum all climbed to all-time highs, lifting shares of miners including Coeur Mining Inc. and Freeport-McMoRan Inc. Spot gold rose 0.82%; earlier, the yellow metal peaked above $4,530 an ounce.
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Oil advanced toward the biggest weekly gain since October as traders weighed supply risks. Markets tracked reports of a partial US blockade of crude shipments from Venezuela, alongside a military strike by Washington targeting a terrorist group in Nigeria.
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The S&P 500 was up nearly 18% year to date through Dec. 24, marking a third straight year of double-digit gains. Wall Street strategists largely expect the advance to continue, with the average forecast for the index standing at 7,464 by the end of next year, implying upside of about 7.7%, Bloomberg data show.
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Confidence has also been returning around the outlook for corporate profits, particularly after earlier worries that valuations in technology stocks had raced too far ahead amid the AI boom. Investors are increasingly betting that companies will deliver the earnings growth needed to justify prices in 2026.
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“2026 is likely going to be a prove-it year for markets,” wrote Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management. “Companies must deliver tangible productivity and margin gains from artificial intelligence and other investments.”
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In other corporate news, shares of Target Corp. gained as much as 6.7% after the Financial Times reported that Toms Capital Investment Management has made a significant investment in the retailer. Warner Bros. Discovery shares slid after a report from the New York Post that Paramount Skydance could walk away from its $30-per-share cash bid and instead litigate against the company’s board for how it handled the process. And shares of Coupang Inc. rose 10% after Yonhap News reported the retailer had identified a former employee accused of accessing personal data belonging to about 33 million customers and recovered the devices involved. Biohaven Ltd. slid after a mid-stage trial of its experimental depression treatment, BHV-7000, failed to meet its primary endpoint.
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Elsewhere, severe winter weather disrupted travel across the US Northeast. Hundreds of flights were canceled at New York’s major airports as a powerful storm moved through the region. The National Weather Service forecast that New York City could receive between 5 and 9 inches (13 to 23 centimeters) of snow from Friday afternoon through early Saturday.
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