- Wall Street edges higher midday Wednesday.
- Markets near record levels hover.
- Holiday-shortened trading day continues.
At 11:15 a.m. Eastern, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had increased by 0.4%. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.1%, while the S&P 500 index increased by less than 0.2%.
Markets are closed on Christmas Eve and will close at 1 p.m. ET. Due to the vacation and the fact that the majority of investors have closed their positions for the year, volumes are anticipated to be low this week even though markets will reopen for a full day of trading on Friday.
Due to investors' support for the Trump administration's deregulatory plans and their optimism about artificial intelligence's potential to increase earnings for both technology businesses and corporate America as a whole, the S&P 500 has increased by almost 15% this year.
Nvidia and Micron Technologies, two businesses that produce chips or other components that drive the expansion of data centers around the nation, are among the top performers this year.
The direction of the US economy and the Federal Reserve's interest rate changes will be major concerns for investors over the coming weeks. When the Fed meets in January, investors are wagering that interest rates will remain unchanged.
Due to consumers continuing to spend despite patient affectation, the U.S. frugality expanded at a suddenly robust 4.3 periodic rate in the third quarter, the fastest rate in two times. Recent reports have also indicated that consumers who are concerned about high prices aren't veritably confident.
Despite some suggestions that the labor request is deteriorating, the number of Americans seeking severance benefits dropped last week and is still at historically high situations.
The Labor Department blamed on Wednesday that operations for severance claims in the United States dropped by 10,000 to 214,000 for the week ending December 20 from 224,000 the week before. That's lower than the 232,000 new operations that judges surveyed by the analytics company FactSet prognosticated.
Following Sanofi's announcement that it would be purchasing the California-based vaccine manufacturer in a $2.2 billion deal, Dynavax Technologies saw a 38% increase. The French pharmaceutical company will expand its product line to include Dynavax's hepatitis B vaccines and an ongoing shingles vaccine.
Following the weight-loss medication company's clearance by US regulators for a tablet form of its popular medication Wegovy, Novo Nordisk's stock increased 2%. However, Novo Nordisk's stock is still down about 40% this year due to the company's increased competition for weight-loss drugs, especially from Eli Lilly. Eli Lilly's stock has increased 40% so far this year.
The European markets were fluctuating between modest gains and losses. Asian markets were likewise calm, with Japan's Nikkei 225 falling 0.1% and Hong Kong rising 0.2%.
Silver prices increased by more than 1%, and both gold and silver futures were higher. The price of US crude oil increased 0.4% to $58.61 per barrel.
How much did trading volume fall during the shortened session?
Wall Street's trading volume on December 24, 2025, during the vacation- docked session fell nearly 50 below the recent diurnal normal, reflecting thin liquidity typical of Christmas Eve trading.
With requests closing beforehand at 1 p.m. ET, consolidated tape recording volume for NYSE and Nasdaq- listed stocks dropped to around 4- 5 billion shares versus 8- 10 billion on normal days, driven by reduced institutional participation and retail vacation absence.
Lower volume amplified intraday swings despite slight earnings, with the S&P 500 near records; judges note similar sessions frequently see heightened volatility from limited liquidity, though no major dislocations passed.