Opening Comment — Friday, December 12, 2025
DJIA: 48,704.01, up 646.26
S&P 500: 6,901.00, up 14.32
NASDAQ: 23,593.86, down 60.29
Stocks mixed to end out week
Stock futures are mixed Friday morning as the market digested the Federal Reserve’s (Fed’s) latest rate cut and updated Summary of Economic Projections. Investors are looking ahead to next week’s key data releases, including November’s jobs report and Consumer Price Index. As of 7:15 AM ET, the Dow is rising 0.2%, while the S&P 500 is down 0.2%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.6% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were mixed on Thursday as initial jobless claims increased while continuing claims for the week prior declined. The U.S. trade deficit for September unexpectedly narrowed, coming in at $52.8 billion. Meanwhile, the finalized September reading of wholesale inventories rose more than expected, though wholesale trade sales unexpectedly decelerated by 0.2% month-over-month (MOM). The Dow was up 1.3% and reached a new record closing level of 48704.01, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3%. The S&P 500 increased 0.2% and set a new record closing level of 6901.00, with eight of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Materials sector was the top performer, rising 2.2%, while the Communication Services sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.0%.
Technical Analysis
As of midday Thursday, the S&P 500 Index is still in an uptrend. Support should be found at the 50-day and 200-day moving averages (6760 and 6213, respectively). Resistance might be found at 7000.
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading despite the U.K.’s gross domestic product unexpectedly declining in October following the trade deficit widening more than forecasted and services declining. Meanwhile, the country’s industrial production and manufacturing production increased by 1.1% and 0.5% MOM, respectively.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were higher as Japan’s capacity utilization increased by 3.3% MOM in October, while the country’s finalized industrial production was revised slightly higher, with output up 1.5% MOM and 1.6% year-over-year.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is slightly higher ahead of next week’s central bank meetings, including policy decisions from the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, and the Bank of England.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.1% lower at $57.52/barrel.
In the metals complex, gold is 1.4% higher at $4,338.15/ounce despite a strengthening dollar.