Business
US stocks slip as trading winds down for year-end
U.S. stocks slipped in early trading on Wednesday, as Wall Street closed out a year driven by both optimism and uncertainty.
The S&P 500 index fell 0.2 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 111 points, or 0.2 percent, by 10:0a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite similarly fell 0.2 percent, extending a three-day losing streak for the indexes.
Trading is expected to be light ahead of the New Year’s Day holiday, when markets will be closed. With just one trading day left before the year ends, most big investors have closed out their positions, leading to very thin trading volumes.
Even after their mini post-Christmas pullback, the indexes are on track for strong gains for the year.
The S&P 500 is up more than 17 percent this year, it’s third straight double-digit annual gain. The Nasdaq is up 21.3 percent and the Dow has gained 13.7 percent.
Wall Street’s 2025 gains came as investors embraced the optimism surrounding artificial intelligence and its potential for boosting profits across almost all sectors. But the market had no shortage of turbulence along the way amid President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs on imported goods worldwide and uncertainty over the trajectory of interest rates.
The S&P 500 plunged nearly 5 percent on April 3, it’s worst day since the 2020 COVID crash. It fell another 6 percent a day later, after China’s response raised fears of an escalating trade war. Worries also gripped the U.S. Treasury market.
Trump eventually put his tariffs on pause and negotiated agreements with countries to lower his proposed tariff rates on their imports, helping calm investors’ nerves.
Strong profit reports from companies and three cuts to interest rates by the Federal Reserve also helped drive markets higher.
Still, the AI frenzy that drove markets in 2025 did not come without concerns. Chief among them is the worry that artificial intelligence technology may not produce enough profits and productivity to make all the investment worth it. That could keep the pressure on AI stocks like Nvidia and Broadcom, which were responsible for much of the market’s gains this year.
And it’s not just AI stocks that critics say are too pricey. Stocks across the market still look expensive after their prices climbed faster than profits.
On top of concerns that stocks are overvalued, the ongoing impact of the wide-ranging U.S.-led trade war threatens to add more fuel to inflation in the U.S. Despite the Fed cutting rates over concerns about the labor market, inflation remains solidly above the central bank’s 2 percent target.
Wall Street is betting that the Fed will hold interest rates steady at its next meeting in January.
Traders got an update on the state of the job market Wednesday. The Labor Department reported that fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week with layoffs remaining low despite a weakening labor market.
Technology and communication services stocks were among the biggest weights of the market Wednesday.
Broadcom fell 1.1 percent and Micron Technology was 2 percent lower.
Treasury yields were mostly higher in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.14 percent from 4.13 percent late Tuesday. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which moves more closely with expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do, rose to 3.46 percent from 3.45percent.
Trading in precious metals continued to be volatile as the year winds down. Silver swung back to a big loss, giving back more than 6 percent early Wednesday after Tuesday’s gain of more than 10 percent. Following Friday’s 7.7 percent jump, silver lost nearly 9 percent on Monday. It’s still up more than 140 percent this year.
Gold was down 0.6 percent, but is still up 65 percent in 2025.
Elsewhere, global stock markets including Germany, Japan and South Korea were closed Wednesday for the New Year’s holidays, while trading was mixed in those that remained open.
U.S. crude picked up 39 cents to $58.34 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 36 cents to $61.69 per barrel.
Thomas Fuller | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
UniQure needs to run another study to prove that its gene therapy “actually helps people with Huntington’s disease,” a senior U.S. Food and Drug Administration official said on a call with reporters Thursday.
The official, who requested anonymity before discussing sensitive information, confirmed the agency has asked the company to run a placebo controlled trial of its treatment, which is administered directly into the brain. UniQure has said that type of study isn’t ethical because it would require putting people under general anesthesia for hours, a characterization the official disputed.
“So what is really going on? UniQure is the latest company to make a failed therapy for Huntington’s patients,” the official said. “They likely acknowledge or understand at some deep level that their trial failed years ago, and instead of doing the right thing and running the correct clinical study, UniQure is performing a distorted or manipulated comparison in the mind of FDA.”
The comments mark the latest development in a messy public spat between UniQure and the FDA, and as the agency comes under fire for a number of recent drug approval application rejections, including some where companies have accused it of going back on previous guidance. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary in an interview with CNBC’s Becky Quick last week seemingly criticized UniQure’s gene therapy for Huntington’s disease. Makary didn’t name UniQure but described its treatment.
UniQure then accused the FDA of reversing its stance that the company’s clinical trial data would be sufficient to seek approval. UniQure’s study used an outside database to measure how patients with Huntington’s disease might decline without treatment, known as an external control. UniQure has said it wouldn’t be feasible to run a true randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study, considered the gold standard, because it wouldn’t be ethical to make people undergo a sham hours-long brain surgery.
The FDA official said the agency “never agreed to accept this distorted comparison” and the FDA “never makes such assurances.” Instead, the “FDA will always say, ‘Well, we have to see the data when we get it.'”
UniQure didn’t immediately comment.
The company’s stock rose more than 10% on Thursday and has fallen 58% this year as of Thursday afternoon.
Business
US mortgage rates rise to 6% after three-week slide as oil-driven bond yields climb – The Times of India
The average long-term US mortgage rate edged higher this week, ending a three-week decline as bond yields rose amid oil-price pressures linked to the war with Iran.The benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate increased to 6% from 5.98% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said on Thursday. A year ago, the average rate stood at 6.63%, AP reported.The modest uptick breaks a three-week slide in borrowing costs, with mortgage rates having hovered close to the 6% mark for most of this year. Last week’s average had marked the first time the rate dipped below 6% since September 2022, reaching its lowest level in nearly three and a half years.Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, including the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate policy, investor expectations about inflation and economic growth, and movements in the bond market.They typically track the direction of the 10-year US Treasury yield, which lenders use as a benchmark for pricing home loans.The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.14% at midday Thursday, up from around 4% a week earlier.Treasury yields have moved higher in recent days as rising oil prices added fresh inflation concerns, potentially complicating the Federal Reserve’s plans to cut interest rates.
Business
US stocks today: Dow tumbles 800 points, S&P 500 and Nasdaq slip as oil surges after Iran tanker strike – The Times of India
US stock markets fell on Thursday as investors turned cautious after the previous session’s rally, while rising oil prices and geopolitical tensions weighed on sentiment.The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 801 points, or 1.6 per cent, dragged down by losses in stocks such as Caterpillar and Goldman Sachs. The S&P 500 declined 0.9 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.6 per cent.The selloff came as crude oil prices jumped to their highest level since June 2025 after Iran said it had struck an oil tanker with a missile. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures surged 6 per cent to trade above $79 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude futures rose about 3 per cent to more than $84 per barrel. Oil prices had stabilised in the previous trading session.Markets had rallied on Wednesday, supported by gains in technology and semiconductor stocks. The Dow had snapped a three-day losing streak, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite ended the session with solid gains.Despite the ongoing US-Israeli air campaign against Iran, US markets have performed relatively better than European and Asian counterparts this week, largely supported by a rebound in technology stocks that had been hit hard during February’s selloff.The tech-led recovery in the previous session helped the Nasdaq erase its weekly losses, putting the index on track to end the week in positive territory if gains hold through Friday.Investors remain concerned that prolonged disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — a key global energy corridor –could push oil prices higher and add to inflationary pressures through rising energy and shipping costs.Markets are particularly wary of crude prices moving towards $100 per barrel, which could complicate the Federal Reserve’s efforts to control inflation while considering interest-rate cuts.“For the past couple of years, bringing inflation down has been the Fed’s entire focus, and they were finally making progress. But if energy stays expensive, inflation could start climbing again and that would force the Fed to rethink its plans,” said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park Investments, Reuters quoted.According to data compiled by LSEG, investors are increasingly expecting the Federal Reserve to delay a 25-basis-point interest rate cut to September from the previously anticipated July timeline.Among sectors, healthcare led declines on the S&P 500, dropping 1.6 per cent. The energy index, however, gained 0.7 per cent, with shares of ConocoPhillips and Valero Energy rising about 2 per cent each.The CBOE volatility index (VIX), widely seen as a gauge of market fear, rose 0.9 points to 22.08, reflecting cautious investor sentiment. The small-cap Russell 2000 index fell 1 per cent.Travel and tourism stocks, which are sensitive to fuel costs, were under pressure. Delta Air Lines slipped 3.3 per cent, while Royal Caribbean Cruises declined 0.6 per cent.On the other hand, some travel booking companies rallied sharply. Booking Holdings jumped 11 per cent and Expedia surged 8 per cent after a report by The Information said OpenAI was scaling back on-platform shopping checkout plans for ChatGPT, easing concerns about disruption to online marketplace businesses.Chip stocks showed mixed performance. Nvidia edged down 0.3 per cent, while Marvell Technology gained 1.3 per cent.Shares of Broadcom rose 2.9 per cent after the chip designer projected that its artificial intelligence chip revenue could exceed $100 billion next year.Elsewhere, Trade Desk surged 22.5 per cent following a report that OpenAI had held early discussions with the advertising technology company regarding the sale of advertisements.Economic data released on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits remained unchanged last week.Investors are also awaiting remarks from Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michelle Bowman later in the day, ahead of the closely watched non-farm payrolls report due on Friday.On the New York Stock Exchange, declining stocks outnumbered advancers by a ratio of 2.48-to-1, while on the Nasdaq the ratio stood at 1.63-to-1.The S&P 500 recorded four new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite registered 17 new highs and 33 new lows.
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