On December 22 local time, U.S. stocks closed higher, marking a three-day winning streak for major indices. The S&P 500 rose 0.64%, the Nasdaq gained 0.52%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.47%.
Large-cap tech stocks were mixed, with the "Magnificent Seven" index up 0.41%. Tesla Motors and Nvidia rose over 1%, while Google advanced nearly 1%. Amazon gained 0.48%, and Meta (Facebook) added 0.41%. Apple fell more than 1%, and Microsoft dipped 0.25%.
Most semiconductor stocks rose, with Micron Technology surging over 4% and Microchip Technology up more than 2%. Intel declined over 1%.
Banking stocks rallied across the board: JPMorgan Chase rose nearly 2%, Goldman Sachs gained 0.6%, Citigroup jumped over 2% to a 17-year high, Morgan Stanley climbed more than 1%, Bank of America advanced over 1%, and Wells Fargo added over 1%.
Tesla Motors rose more than 1%, briefly hitting a record high during the session with shares approaching $500. Analysts attribute Tesla's recent surge partly to CEO Elon Musk's major legal victory—Delaware's Supreme Court reinstated his 2018 compensation package, once valued at $56 billion.
Chinese stocks also extended gains, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index rising 0.58% for a third consecutive day. Among notable movers, Canadian Solar surged nearly 11%, while iQiyi, Qifu Technology, Pony.ai, and Trip.com each gained over 2%. MINISO and Bilibili rose more than 1%, and Alibaba edged up nearly 1%. Goldman Sachs analysts recently projected Chinese corporate earnings could grow 14% in 2026 and 12% in 2027, potentially boosting market performance. Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, and UBS have also expressed bullish views on Chinese equities.
In commodities, WTI crude for February 2026 delivery rose 2.64% to $58.01/barrel, while Brent crude for the same month gained 2.65% to $62.07/barrel.
Precious metals hit new peaks: spot gold reached a record $4,449.18/oz, with COMEX gold futures up 2.16% at $4,482.30/oz. Spot silver jumped 2.79% to $69.0304/oz, while COMEX silver futures rose 2.20%. COMEX copper futures dipped 0.20% in volatile trading. Spot platinum surged 7.49%, and palladium gained 3.50%. Gold extended gains to $4,458/oz.
Over the past year, precious metals have soared—gold prices have risen over 60%, and silver has surged 130%, driven by central bank purchases, Fed rate cut expectations, and safe-haven demand.
Wall Street remains bullish on gold's outlook. Goldman Sachs analysts Daan Struyven and Samantha Dart project further gains in 2025, with a base-case target of $4,900/oz and upside risks, noting ETF investors are competing with central banks for limited supply. Professor Li Huihui of Emlyon Business School suggests gold's bull run is far from over, with $4,400/oz potentially being just a "midway point" in a supercycle. Unlike past decades when futures dominated pricing, this cycle sees increasing spot market influence.