Opening Comment — Monday, December 22, 2025
DJIA: 48,134.89, up 183.04
S&P 500: 6,834.50, up 59.74
NASDAQ: 23,307.62, up 301.26
Stocks higher to start off week
Stock futures are mostly higher Monday morning as investors are looking ahead to tomorrow’s third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data. As of 7:14 AM ET, the Dow is little changed, while the S&P 500 is up 0.3%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.5% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were higher on Friday as existing home sales rose less than expected in November, reaching an annualized rate of 4.13 million units. Meanwhile, the finalized reading of December consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan came in at 52.9, slightly below the preliminary reading of 53.3. The Dow was up 0.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.3%. The S&P 500 increased 0.9% with seven of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Information Technology sector was the top performer, rising 2.0%, while the Utilities sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.3%.
On the data front, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s National Activity Index for September is expected to come in at negative 0.17.
Across the pond, European stocks are mostly lower in mid-day trading as the U.K.’s finalized reading of the third-quarter GDP was unchanged from the prior reading, showing an increase of 0.1% quarter-over-quarter (QOQ) and 1.3% year-over-year (YOY). The country’s finalized third-quarter exports and imports registered unexpected increases, rising by 0.2% QOQ and 0.3% QOQ, respectively.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were higher as South Korea’s exports rose 6.8% YOY in the first 20 days of December, while imports increased 0.7% YOY. Meanwhile Tokyo condominium sales declined by 14.4% YOY in November.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is slightly lower as investors await tomorrow’s U.S. GDP data.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 2.0% higher at $57.65/barrel as the U.S. pursues another oil tanker near Venezuela.
In the metals complex, gold is 1.6% higher at $4,409.63/ounce following a weakening U.S. dollar.