Wall Street Slips at Year’s End as Tech Stocks Ease After Record Run

BY EMMANUEL OGBONNA

U.S. stock futures pointed lower on Monday as Wall Street prepared to enter the final trading week of the year with a cautious tone, weighed down by modest pullbacks in heavyweight technology shares that had driven recent gains. The early dip followed a strong stretch that pushed major indexes to record or near-record levels, prompting some investors to lock in profits ahead of year-end.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down about 0.11%, while those linked to the S&P 500 fell roughly 0.29%. Nasdaq 100 futures showed the steepest decline, slipping around 0.47%, reflecting weakness across large-cap technology and artificial intelligence-related stocks.

The S&P 500 closed last week just shy of the psychologically significant 7,000-point mark, while the Dow notched a record closing high. With markets entering a traditionally strong seasonal period, some investors had been watching closely for a so-called year-end rally, when stocks often rise during the final days of December and early January. The early softness, however, suggested a more subdued start to the week.

Despite Monday’s decline, all three major indexes remain on track for solid monthly performances. The Dow and the S&P 500 are heading toward their eighth consecutive monthly gains, buoyed largely by a rebound in technology stocks following optimistic outlooks from key players in the semiconductor sector earlier in the month. The broader rally has kept the current bull market intact since its start in October 2022.

Investor confidence has continued to draw support from enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence, expectations that interest rates could ease in the year ahead, and signs of resilience in the U.S. economy. Those factors have helped offset lingering concerns about elevated valuations among large technology companies and periodic bouts of market volatility. If current trends hold, the three main indexes are set to post their third straight annual gains, each reaching double-digit advances for the year.

In premarket trading Monday, many prominent technology and AI-linked stocks moved lower. Shares of Nvidia and Oracle were down more than 1%, while Tesla slipped about 1.1% after climbing to a record high late last week. The declines reflected a pause after an extended rally rather than a shift in broader sentiment, analysts said.

Precious metal miners also came under pressure as gold and silver prices retreated after a powerful run. Silver fell sharply after recently surging above $80 an ounce for the first time, while gold eased following consecutive record highs last week. Shares of major gold producers dropped more than 2%, and a widely followed silver miners exchange-traded fund slid roughly 3%.

In contrast, shares of digital infrastructure firm DigitalBridge surged after reports that Japan’s SoftBank was in advanced talks to acquire the company. The prospect of a major deal sparked strong buying interest, sending the stock sharply higher and standing out as one of the session’s notable movers.

On the economic calendar, investors are expected to focus on minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting, along with weekly jobless claims data, in an otherwise quiet week for economic releases. Analysts cautioned that holiday timing can distort weekly labor data and urged markets not to overreact to short-term fluctuations.

Trading activity is expected to remain relatively light through the end of the week, with many market participants away for the holidays and U.S. markets scheduled to close on Thursday for New Year’s Day. As the year draws to a close, investors appear to be balancing optimism about long-term trends with a measured approach to near-term risks, setting the stage for a cautious finish to an otherwise strong year on Wall Street.