view original
postUS stocks sank on Monday while bitcoin’s (BTC-USD) slump deepened, as Wall Street’s strong late-November rebound looked set to hit a speed bump on the first trading day of December.
Tech led the retreat, with the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) down around 1% and the S&P 500 (^GSPC) dropping roughly 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) slid around 0.6%, after the blue-chip benchmark led Wall Street indexes to a fifth day of gains on Friday.
All the “Magnificent Seven” megacap stocks except Amazon (AMZN) pulled back, led by falls of around 1% for Nvidia (NVDA), Meta (META), and Tesla (TSLA).
Meanwhile, bitcoin fell sharply, losing nearly 6% in another sign that markets are kicking December off in a risk-off mood. The leading cryptocurrency sank below $85,000 a token on Monday morning, extending a weeks-long slide, before bouncing to trade above that level.
December is typically a strong month for stocks, but strategists say the so-called Santa Claus rally may not happen this year after a string of events — not least President Trump’s tariff push — kept uncertainty high. That has led stocks to buck the usual seasonal trends throughout 2025, analysts say.
Focus is still on the Federal Reserve’s path for interest rates, even as over 85% of bets ride on a quarter-point reduction at policymakers’ meeting next week. The Thanksgiving week rally was fueled in large part by rising hopes for a cut and lower borrowing costs, on the back of supportive comments from Fed officials. But the central bank has now entered a blackout ahead of its gathering.
That puts the spotlight on economic data to set expectations for rates, as releases continue to flow back to normal post-government shutdown. Monday brings a reading on November manufacturing activity, ahead of updates on services activity and the jobs market in coming days. But the highlight comes Friday, with the delayed arrival of September’s Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge.
Wall Street is also bracing for a potential change of leadership at the Fed, after a year of Trump butting heads with Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Trump said Sunday he has made his choice for replacing Powell. Trump didn’t give a name, though White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett is seen as most likely.
LIVE 14 updates
-
Cyber Monday sales expected to rise 6.3% from a year ago, Adobe Analytics says
Consumers are expected to spend a record $14.2 billion on Cyber Monday, up 6.3% from last year, per Adobe (ADBE) Analytics.
As consumer confidence hit its lowest since April and shoppers worry about the labor market, they’re seeking out mostly pricer goods like electronics, apparel, and furniture on the final day of a deal-filled weekend.
Adobe said consumers are expected to turn to buy now, pay later payment methods to take advantage of the deals. Today alone, Adobe predicts that consumers will spend $1 billion using the flexible payment method. That would be the largest single day on record.
As shoppers look to score last-minute deals, they’re expected to spend the most between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET Monday. The expectation is that $16 million will be spent every minute.
This comes after a record cyber weekend. On Saturday and Sunday, consumers spent a record $11.8 billion online combined. On Friday, Americans spent that much in one day alone, up 9.1% year over year.
Plus, retailers like Walmart (WMT) and Target (TGT) have been ramping up their AI capabilities as consumers use AI this holiday season to cross compare deals, get gift ideas, and research products. Compared to a year ago, AI traffic to US retail sites is up 770% from Nov. 1 to Nov. 30.
-
Stocks fall at the open of the first trading session of December
The major US stock gauges slid on Monday, putting Wall Street’s strong late-November rebound on track to hit a speed bump on the first trading day of December.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led the way down, losing around 1% at the open before paring losses. Meanwhile, the generalist S&P 500 (^GSPC) gave up around 0.6%, and the blue chip-loaded Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) shed 0.4%.
Most of the “Magnificent Seven” megacap stocks pulled back, with Meta (META) losing over 1%, and Alphabet (GOOG) giving up nearly as much.
Bitcoin continued to fall, plummeting nearly 6% to below $85,000 a token to extend a weeks-long slide, before rebounding to recross the $86,000 mark.
-
Barrick stock rises as company explores IPO of North American assets
Barrick Mining Corporation (B) said Monday that it’s exploring an IPO of its North American gold assets, sending shares of the Canadian miner up 3% ahead of the opening bell.
Barrick said it would maintain a significant controlling interest in the new company should it spin off its subsidiary as a publicly traded entity.
The new company would control Barrick’s interests in Nevada Gold Mines and the Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic, which are both joint ventures with Newmont (NEM), as well as Barrick’s wholly owned Fourmile gold discovery in Nevada. Newmont stock also rose in premarket trading.
The announcement comes after activist investor Elliott Investment Management reportedly built a sizable stake in the company in November and pushed for a breakup. In September, Mark Hill took over as Barrick’s CEO, as rising costs in its North American mines and the company remained locked in a dispute with Mali’s government.
-
Synopsys stock jumps on news of Nvidia investment
Nvidia (NVDA) announced Monday that it invested $2 billion in Synopsys (SNPS) stock to deepen the companies’ partnership.
Nvidia shares fell 1.5% in premarket trading as a risk-off mood swept markets, while Synopsys stock jumped over 7% on the news. If that holds through the day, Synopsys is on track to wipe away about half of its year-to-date losses.
Synopsys, which designs tools and offers services to companies, is partnering with Nvidia on engineering and marketing activities, including compute-intensive applications, advanced agentic AI engineering, and joint go-to-market initiatives, according to a press release.
Nvidia paid $414.79 per share for Synopsys’s common stock. The AI titan is coming off a rough November, with shares down 11% over the past month. Year to date, however, Nvidia stock has returned 31%.
-
Crypto stocks bruised as bitcoin dips below $85K, ether sells off
Crypto stocks took a hit in premarket trading on Monday as a sell-off in cryptocurrencies gained steam.
Strategy (MSTR), which helped pioneer the bitcoin treasury model for businesses, declined by over 5%. Year to date, the Michael Saylor-led firm is down 38%. Meanwhile, Coinbase (COIN) dropped by 5%, and Robinhood (HOOD) slid 4%.
The stocks fell in sympathy with cryptocurrencies, which sold off across the board.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell more than 6% and briefly traded below $85,000. Ether (ETH-USD) shed nearly 7% to trade around $2,800 per token. Ripple’s XRP (XRP-USD) dropped 7% to around $2.
Selling accelerated in the early morning hours after the DeFi platform Yearn Finance said it experienced an “incident” in its yETH LST stableswap pool. Yearn posted on X that the hack led to a $9 million loss.
-
Treasurys fall as Japanese sell-off ripples through bond markets
Bloomberg reports:
Treasurys started the post-Thanksgiving week on the back foot as a slide in Japanese debt spilled over into bond markets globally.
The yield on US 10-year notes (^TNX) rose three basis points to 4.04%, following a jump in the Japanese equivalent to the highest since 2008 on the prospect of a Bank of Japan interest-rate hike later this month. That also pushed up rates on bonds from Europe to New Zealand.
Read more here.
-
Good morning. Here’s what’s happening today.
-
Stocks drift back towards record highs as the final month of 2025 gets underway: What to watch this week
Yahoo Finance’s Jake Conley takes a look at the key events for markets this week.
He reports:
Read more here.
-
Premarket trenders: Coupang, New Fortress Energy and Strategy
South Korea’s largest e-retailer Coupang Inc. (CPNG) stock fell 8% in premarket trading on Monday following a massive data leak. This latest break caps what is set to be a record year for online leaks in the country, highlighting weaknesses in Seoul’s cyber defenses.
New Fortress Energy (NFE) stock soared 22% before the bell on Monday. The liquefied natural gas supplier, which has faced questions over its rising debt, had a contract approved with Puerto Rico regulators late Friday.
Strategy (MSTR) stock fell 4% during premarket trading on Monday. The software company, which is one of the largest investors of bitcoin has suffered due to the crypto selloff.
-
Silver jumps to extend its record-beating rally
Silver (SI=F) jumped nearly 2% to a fresh all-time peak on Monday as traders eyed tight supply and optimism for a US interest rate cut in December.
The metal was trading above $58 an ounce, having surged almost 6% on Friday to a record high.
Bloomberg reports:
Read more here.
-
‘I don’t know if we’ll get that Santa rally’: Why Wall Street says December may break from its usual strength
Yahoo Finance’s Allie Canal reports:
Read more here.
-
Oil gains as traders eye risks from attack on key Black Sea terminal, Venezuela tensions
Bloomberg reports:
Oil rose as a key pipeline linking Kazakh fields to Russia’s Black Sea coast halted loading after one of its three moorings was damaged in an attack over the weekend.
Brent (BZ=F) traded above $63. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium carries most of Kazakhstan’s crude exports, which have averaged 1.6 million barrels a day so far this year.
Ukraine hasn’t commented on the incident at the CPC facility, although it confirmed separate attacks on an oil refinery and tankers over the weekend.
The incident came after the OPEC+ producer-group led by Saudi Arabia reiterated a three-month plan to halt output hikes in the first quarter of next year. OPEC+ again said the move reflected weaker seasonal market conditions. A major surplus is expected in the early part of next year.
Oil posted a fourth consecutive monthly drop in November as expectations for a swelling surplus weighed on the outlook, with the International Energy Agency forecasting a record glut in 2026. Still, geopolitical tensions from Russia to Venezuela — where President Trump warned airspace should be considered closed over the weekend, add to the bullish risks for prices.
Read more here.
-
ChatGPT was unveiled 3 years ago, kicking off the AI revolution. For investors, it did even more.
Yahoo Finance’s Myles Udland reports:
The three-year anniversary of ChatGPT’s release was on Sunday.
For investors and the corporate world, a lot more than three years’ worth of change has followed.
Stock prices have soared. Workflows have changed. Staffing needs have been radically altered. A massive domestic infrastructure buildout is underway.
The economy has become increasingly K-shaped, with the distance widening between the financial haves and have-nots in both the corporate and consumer realms.
The transformed state of the economy and markets is remarkable on its own merits. But against the backdrop of the markets from which this artificial intelligence boom emerged, the turnaround is even more impressive.
Simply put, ChatGPT didn’t just catalyze the biggest technological boom in a generation; it offered a catalyst to turn around one of the lousiest market environments investors had been dealing with since the financial crisis.
… And it is with this context that the doubt which has seemed to dog this bull run becomes more explicable.
Read more here in this takeaway from Morning Brief.
-
Bitcoin leads crypto sell-off as coin drops below $87,000
Cryptocurrencies fell early Monday morning as a week of sell-off continued despite appearing to stablize at the end of last week.
Bloomberg reports:
Read more here.
