{"id":57369,"date":"2025-12-25T07:07:54","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T11:07:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wall-street-takes-christmas-break-after-record-setting-christmas-eve-rally-futures-signal-muted-open-for-friday\/57369\/"},"modified":"2025-12-25T07:07:54","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T11:07:54","slug":"wall-street-takes-christmas-break-after-record-setting-christmas-eve-rally-futures-signal-muted-open-for-friday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wall-street-takes-christmas-break-after-record-setting-christmas-eve-rally-futures-signal-muted-open-for-friday\/57369\/","title":{"rendered":"Wall Street Takes Christmas Break After Record-Setting Christmas Eve Rally; Futures Signal Muted Open for Friday"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. financial markets are observing a full closure today, Thursday, December 25, 2025, in celebration of the Christmas holiday. Trading on both the New York Stock Exchange (<a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/markets\/nyse\/today.aspx\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"NYSE Today\">NYSE<\/a>) and Nasdaq is suspended for the entire day, with normal operations set to resume on Friday, December 26, 2025. This pause follows a shortened, yet record-setting, trading session on Christmas Eve, Wednesday, December 24, where major indexes continued their upward trajectory, fueling hopes of a &quot;Santa Claus rally&quot; to close out the year.<\/p>\n<h2>Major Market Indexes Conclude Christmas Eve on a High Note<\/h2>\n<p>On Wednesday, December 24, U.S. equities experienced a holiday-shortened trading day, with markets closing early at 1:00 PM ET. Despite the lighter trading volume, the primary indexes extended their recent gains, with the <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/markets\/sp500\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"snp500 today\">S&amp;P 500<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/SPX\">SPX<\/a>) and <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/markets\/dowjones\/today.aspx\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Dow Jones Today\">Dow Jones<\/a> Industrial Average (<a href=\"\/stock\/DJI\">DJI<\/a>) reaching new all-time closing highs. The S&amp;P 500 advanced by 0.3% to settle at 6,932.05 points, marking its 39th record close of 2025 and its fifth consecutive day of gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6% to 48,731.16, also achieving a fresh record. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (<a href=\"\/stock\/IXIC\">IXIC<\/a>) also saw a gain, rising 0.2% to close at 23,613.31. This upward momentum has been partly attributed to a rebound in AI-related stocks and a prevailing &quot;soft landing&quot; narrative for the economy.<\/p>\n<h2>Premarket Activity and Futures Outlook for Friday<\/h2>\n<p>With markets closed for Christmas, investors are looking ahead to Friday&#39;s trading session. <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/markets\/pre-market\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Premarket Movers\">Premarket<\/a> activity for December 26th, as observed on Christmas Eve, indicated a relatively muted start. Stock futures for the S&amp;P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq 100 were largely unchanged or fractionally lower, suggesting a cautious sentiment following the holiday break. The subdued futures movements reflect the typical holiday period, where many investors have already closed out positions for the year, leading to thinner liquidity.<\/p>\n<h2>Upcoming Market Events to Watch<\/h2>\n<p>The week following the Christmas holiday will bring several key economic data releases that could influence market direction. On Friday, December 26, the latest jobless claims report is anticipated, offering insights into the health of the labor market. Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, December 23, revised Q3 GDP figures were released, showing an unexpected jump to a 4.3% growth rate, up from 3.8% in the previous quarter. However, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve&#39;s preferred inflation gauge, also ticked up to 2.8% in Q3.<\/p>\n<p>Looking further ahead, the minutes from the Federal Reserve&#39;s next meeting, scheduled for early January, will be closely scrutinized for clues on future interest rate policy. Wall Street analysts are largely predicting that the Fed will hold rates steady in January, with expectations for an early 2026 rate cut having scaled back due to persistent inflation and robust economic data. The December Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) report is slated for release on January 9, 2026, followed by the December U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) on January 13, 2026. These reports will be crucial in shaping the Fed&#39;s monetary policy decisions for the coming year.<\/p>\n<h2>Major Stock News and Corporate Developments<\/h2>\n<p>Several companies made headlines in the 24 hours leading up to the Christmas holiday:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Dynavax Technologies<\/strong> saw its shares surge by 38.2% after French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi announced an agreement to acquire the vaccine maker in a deal valued at $2.2 billion.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Novo Nordisk A\/S<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVO\">NVO<\/a>) experienced a 7.3% jump in its stock price following the U.S. FDA&#39;s approval of its GLP-1 pill for the treatment of overweight or obesity. Despite this, the company&#39;s shares remain down nearly 40% year-to-date due to increasing competition, particularly from Eli Lilly (<a href=\"\/stock\/LLY\">LLY<\/a>), whose shares have risen 40% this year.<\/li>\n<li><strong>ServiceNow Inc.<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/NOW\">NOW<\/a>) shares declined 1.5% after the company confirmed its decision to acquire cybersecurity startup Armis for $7.75 billion in cash.<\/li>\n<li><strong>BP p.l.c.<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/BP\">BP<\/a>) announced an agreement to sell a 65% majority stake in its Castrol lubricants division to Stonepeak, an alternative investment firm, in a transaction valuing the business at approximately $10.1 billion.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Nike<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/NKE\">NKE<\/a>) emerged as a top performer in both the S&amp;P 500 and Dow, with its stock rising 4.6%. This movement came after a regulatory filing revealed that Apple (<a href=\"\/stock\/AAPL\">AAPL<\/a>) CEO Tim Cook had purchased nearly $3 million worth of Nike shares earlier in the week.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tesla<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/TSLA\">TSLA<\/a>) is reportedly under investigation by a U.S. regulator regarding potential defects in the Model 3 door release mechanism.<\/li>\n<li>Alphabet (<a href=\"\/stock\/GOOGL\">GOOGL<\/a>), Google&#39;s parent company, announced that its self-driving car subsidiary, Waymo, would be updating its software across its fleet to enhance navigation capabilities after vehicles experienced issues during a power outage in San Francisco.<\/li>\n<li>Other notable movements on Christmas Eve included gains for <strong>Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc.<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/HII\">HII<\/a>), which rose 0.3% on news of plans for new battleships, and <strong>ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd.<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/ZIM\">ZIM<\/a>), which surged 5.8% amid reports of potential acquisitions. Additionally, <strong>UiPath<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/PATH\">PATH<\/a>) saw <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/markets\/pre-market\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Premarket Movers\">premarket<\/a> gains on December 24th due to its upcoming inclusion in the S&amp;P MidCap 400. Other Dow components like Verizon (<a href=\"\/stock\/VZ\">VZ<\/a>), Walt Disney (<a href=\"\/stock\/DIS\">DIS<\/a>), Merck (<a href=\"\/stock\/MRK\">MRK<\/a>), and Goldman Sachs (<a href=\"\/stock\/GS\">GS<\/a>) also contributed to the index&#39;s gains.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As markets remain closed for the holiday, investors will be closely monitoring global developments and the upcoming economic calendar, particularly the jobless claims report, to gauge market sentiment and potential movements when trading resumes on Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. financial markets are observing a full closure today, Thursday, December 25, 2025, in celebration of the Christmas holiday. Trading 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