U.S. Stocks May Give Back Ground Following Recent Strength

Market Overview - Major U.S. index futures are indicating a modestly lower open, with stocks likely to give back ground after recent gains [1] - The Dow rose by 227.79 points (0.5%) to 48,362.68, the Nasdaq climbed by 121.21 points (0.5%) to 23,428.83, and the S&P 500 advanced by 43.99 points (0.6%) to 6,878.49 [4] - Trading activity appeared subdued due to a lack of major U.S. economic data, with some traders away from their desks ahead of the Christmas holiday [6] Economic Indicators - The U.S. economy grew by 4.3% in Q3 2025, significantly higher than the expected 3.3% [2][21] - New orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods fell by 2.2% in October, contrary to expectations of a 1.5% decline [19][20] - Excluding transportation equipment, durable goods orders increased by 0.2% in October [20] Sector Performance - Gold stocks saw substantial strength, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index rising by 3.3% to a record closing high [7] - Airline stocks also performed well, reflected by a 1.7% gain in the NYSE Arca Airline Index [7] - Tech stocks like Oracle (ORCL) and Nvidia (NVDA) contributed to market recovery, with Oracle shares surging by 3.3% after Wells Fargo reiterated its Overweight rating [5] International Markets - Asian markets extended gains, with China's Shanghai Composite Index up 0.1% to 3,919.98 [10] - The Japanese Nikkei 225 Index inched up less than 0.1% to 50,412.87, while the Korean Kospi Index increased by 0.3% to 4,117.32 [11] - European stock markets are trading mixed, with the U.K.'s FTSE 100 down 0.01% and France's CAC 40 down 0.21% [15][16]