Investment Review - December 2025
- Despite a furious 5% final-week improvement, the Nasdaq Composite finished November down 1.5%, breaking its streak of seven consecutive monthly gains. The fall was driven largely by artificial intelligence-oriented technology stocks on concern with high valuations.
- The S&P 500 Stock Index finished the month with a slight 0.1% increase, extending its winning streak begun in May. The index experienced noteworthy volatility during the month, initially declining 4.4% before staging a snap-back in the final sessions. Likewise, the Dow Industrials experienced significant volatility. As the federal shutdown ended on November 12, the Dow reached a high close of 48,255, topping 48,000 for the first time. However, it then plunged 2,500 points before recovering some 2,000 points to end at 47,716, down a modest 0.6% for the month.
- The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield also swung significantly during November, peaking at around 4.13%, but then backing-off to nearly 4% by the end of the month, influenced by published Fed minutes and global economic signals. The debt market showed selling pressures that pushed yields up initially, followed by a drop below 4% as Black Friday arrived. The lower yields at the short end of the yield curve reflect market anticipation of a rate cut on December 10.
Key Investment Statistics
Sources: FactSet, University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, International Monetary Fund, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Institute for Supply Management (ISM)
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