Review & Preview: Next Stop? S&P 7000.

S&P 7000? Thin volume paved the way to another stock market milestone.

The S&P 500 rose 0.5% today to mark its 38th record close of 2025. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 78 points, or 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.6%.

Stocks traded sideways early on as markets reacted to a dip in rate-cut expectations prompted by a stronger-than-expected reading on third-quarter GDP growth.

But the declines gave way to gains as the afternoon rolled on.

Only 3.82 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, which made for the lowest volume day since Jan. 3, according to Dow Jones Market Data. It was the third lowest volume day on the NYSE.

Nasdaq volume was higher at 7.52 billion shares, versus a 2025 average of 8.9 billion. Tech stocks like Nvidia and Broadcom helped lift the market on an otherwise mixed day.

Tomorrow will kick of the much-anticipated Santa Claus rally period when the major indexes tend to rise in the final five days of a year through the first two sessions of the following year.

The S&P enters the home stretch of the year just 1.3% away from the 7,000 point level. The average S&P 500 gain during the Santa Claus rally period since 1950? 1.3%.

Company

Last

Chg

Chg%

Dow Jones Industrial Average

48,731.16

288.75

0.60%

S&P 500 Index

6,932.05

22.26

0.32%

NASDAQ Composite Index

23,613.31

51.46

0.22%

Market Data as of

The Hot Stock: Expand Energy +3.1%
The Biggest Loser: Moderna -7.5%

Best Sector: Communication Services +1.0%
Worst Sector: Consumer Staples -0.4%

Created with Highcharts 9.0.1Tuesday, Dec. 23Index performanceSource: FactSetAs of Dec. 26, 4 p.m. ET

Created with Highcharts 9.0.1Dec. 26-0.4-0.3-0.2-0.100.10.20.3%S&P 500Dow industrialsNasdaq Composite

Predict This!

FanDuel is the latest big sportsbook to hop on the prediction market train. The firm this week partnered with CME Group to launch a prediction market in five states.

Sportsbooks FanDuel and DraftKings have seen prediction markets lay siege to their sports-betting duopoly. Such event contracts—legal nationwide—are built around yes/no questions like “Will the Knicks beat the Timberwolves tonight?”

My Barron’s colleagues Andrew Welsch and Nick Devor explored the world of prediction markets in the latest Barron’s cover story. They write:

“The lines of investing and gambling are being blurred like never before,” says James Martielli, head of investment product for Vanguard’s Personal Investor business.

And this week, those lines blurred even more, with Robinhood announcing sports trades linked to a series of related events. One possibility: The San Francisco 49ers will win on Sunday, Christian McCaffrey will rush for more than 100 yards, and the total score will be more than 50.

The latest trades, which resemble parlay bets in traditional gambling, pay out only if each event within the combination resolves correctly. Robinhood says the new combos give customers “another way to turn their nuanced sports knowledge into an investing opportunity.”

Not everyone is jumping on board.

Incumbents like Vanguard, known for its buy-and-hold approach to investing, and Charles Schwab, which itself upended the world of retail investing in the 1970s with discounted stock trades, have steered clear of prediction markets.

“I just don’t want young people in our country to think gambling on the Monday Night Football game is the same as investing in stocks and bonds,” Rick Wurster, Schwab’s recently installed CEO, told a room of 5,000 financial advisors in November.

“The challenge I see with this is that investing over the long run pays off,” he said. “And you have all dramatically enhanced the financial lives of your clients by helping them identify how to invest and what to invest in.”

You can read the full Barron’s cover story here.

The Calendar

The Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange tomorrow have an early close to regular trading at 1 p.m. ET.

What We’re Reading Today

• Paramount’s New Bid ‘Not Sufficient,’ Warner’s Fifth-Largest Shareholder Says
• Education Department to Begin Taking Wages of Student Loan Borrowers in Default
• Elon Musk’s Net Worth Could Hit $1 Trillion Even Before He Earns That Huge Tesla Paycheck
• Schwab and Robinhood Will Match U.S. Government’s $1,000 Gift to Trump Accounts
• This Recent IPO Is Down 55%. What’s Behind the Wild Swings.

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