Morning Brief

It's the first trading day of 2026, and Wall Street already has its eye on what could be the next big market catalyst and next step for the AI trade. The 2026 Consumer Technology Association (CES) will kick off in Las Vegas on Monday, January 5, with a keynote speech from Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang. Yahoo Finance tech editor Dan Howley discusses what to expect from this year's CES event and wh...

On the Morning Brief, Yahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi is examining the biggest developing market stories on December 31, 2025 — the final trading day of the year! JonesTrading Chief Market Strategist Michael O'Rourke and EMJ Capital Founder and President Eric Jackson come on today's program for a panel discussion spanning several topics, including a look back on 2025's strongest stock f...

Yahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi tracks several of the day's top trending stock tickers, including Tesla's (TSLA) expectations for weaker EV deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2025, mining company stocks gaining on the rebound in silver, gold, and copper prices, and Boeing (BA) signing an $8.5 billion contract with the US Air Force to build fighter jets for the Israeli military.  Meta P...

Yahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi tracks several of the day's top trending stock tickers, including SoftBank's (9984.T, SFTBY) $4 billion acquisition of data center infrastructure firm DigitalBridge Group (DBRG), Intel (INTC) completing its stock sale to stakeholder Nvidia (NVDA), and the Wall Street Journal reporting Lululemon (LULU) founder Chip Wilson is staging a proxy battle by nomin...

US stocks headed into the post-Christmas session with thin volumes and major indexes hovering near record highs as investors track the Santa Claus rally window. Precious metals added to risk-on sentiment, with gold and silver at record levels and miners outperforming over the past month. The AI trade stayed front and center after Nvidia (NVDA) struck its largest acquisition to date, agreeing to pa...

US stocks were little changed on the holiday-shortened session after the S&P 500 closed at a record, with investors tracking the Santa Claus rally window into early January. Commodity strength stayed a key backdrop, keeping inflation and rate expectations in focus as traders look ahead to 2026 policy signals. Strategists argued the AI trade still matters, but leadership may broaden from “AI cost c...

US markets opened softer after Q3 GDP printed at 4.3%, reviving the idea the Fed may have less room to cut early in 2026. Investors now pivot to thin holiday liquidity, the next data points, and whether earnings can clear rising expectations. AI leadership remains the focal point: Nvidia (NVDA) has added about 5% over the last 5 sessions as Dan Ives framed the cycle as “year 3” of a multi-year bui...

US stock futures edged higher into a holiday-shortened week, with investors still looking for a late-year Santa Claus rally and a quieter, lower-volume tape. Sentiment is also reacting to Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammock signaling no urgency to cut rates for several months, keeping the inflation debate in focus. Crypto’s “everything went right, price still fell” narrative is front and center:...

US index futures were steady Friday after a quiet week of delayed data and selective earnings reactions. Investors head into the final full trading week of 2025 watching for a soft-landing read on 2026 growth, Fed rate-cut timing, and whether breadth can keep expanding beyond mega-cap tech. Big banks led 2025’s surprise winners: the KBW Bank Index rose about 28%, powered by strong trading and deal...

US stock futures pushed higher after November CPI landed below estimates, but traders are weighing a key asterisk: the government shutdown disrupted data collection, leaving the report tougher to trust. Markets are now watching whether the next inflation and jobs prints validate a real downshift and what that means for the Fed’s 2026 rate-cut path. The bigger story for risk appetite is how quickly...

US stock futures point modestly higher, with the Nasdaq leading early gains, as markets digest another round of AI build-out headlines and a major IPO debut. Amazon (AMZN) is reportedly in talks to invest more than $10 billion in OpenAI in a deal that could value the company north of $500 billion and include OpenAI using Amazon’s chips. At the same time, the AI infrastructure trade is showing stre...

US markets are quiet ahead of the Federal Reserve’s final decision of the year, with traders widely expecting a quarter-point “hawkish cut” and a fresh dot plot showing only one more cut penciled in for 2026. Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference and the scope of any dissents will be key as officials juggle inflation, which remains roughly a whole point above target, a softening labor market, and...

US markets open slightly lower as investors brace for the Fed’s final 2025 meeting and a wave of high-stakes corporate news. Nvidia (NVDA) scored a major win after the U.S. approved sales of its H200 AI chip to China, allowing Nvidia to reclaim billions in lost business while sending 25% of proceeds back to the U.S. government. President Trump told reporters that Intel (INTC) and AMD (AMD) will al...

US stocks are little changed to start the week as investors wait on the Federal Reserve’s rate decision and a fresh read on the AI boom from Oracle and Broadcom. Futures point to a modestly higher open, with the Russell 2000 attempting to break out, while bond volatility and the VIX remain near year lows. Markets are pricing a roughly 90% chance that the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points this...

US markets open little changed as investors digest a blockbuster media deal and brace for delayed inflation data. Netflix (NFLX) has agreed to buy the studio and streaming assets of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) in a $72 billion cash-and-stock deal, scooping up HBO, Max, and iconic franchises like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, DC, Friends, The Sopranos, and more. The acquisition caps a fierce bidd...

US markets open mixed as fresh data shows the labor market cooling, and investors reassess where the AI boom is headed next. ADP reported that private employers shed 32,000 jobs in November, versus expectations for a gain of 10,000, with companies with fewer than 50 workers cutting 120,000 positions, and weakness was noted in manufacturing, information, and construction. The report reinforces the...

US futures are higher after Monday’s sharp selloff, with the S&P 500 (^GSPC), Dow (^DJI), and Nasdaq (^IXIC) all turning green and the Russell 2000 leading gains. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is holding above $87,000 after its worst drop since March, with traders watching key support at $80,000 and resistance near $110,000. Leveraged crypto ETFs MSTX and MSTU are down more than 80% this year despite Strategy...

US stock futures are sliding as markets kick off December in risk-off mode. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) enters the month after barely securing a seventh straight monthly gain, while crypto leads the selloff. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell below $86,000, dragging Ether and Solana lower as thin liquidity and ETF outflows fueled renewed volatility. Strategists note Bitcoin’s December pattern tends to be flat-to-cons...

US stock futures are little changed as fresh economic data shows a pullback in consumer spending and moderating wholesale inflation — a combination that strengthens the case for a December Fed rate cut. September retail sales rose just 0.2%, down sharply from August’s 0.6% jump, while core wholesale inflation (PPI excluding food and energy) cooled to 0.1%, its softest reading since spring . Market...

US stock futures are higher as markets try to stabilize after last week’s 2% drop in the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq (^IXIC). Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is back above $85,000 but remains well off its weekend highs, underscoring a risk-off mood heading into a busy stretch of retail earnings and economic data . Investors are watching tomorrow’s PPI and retail sales reports for fresh insight into inflation and...

US stock futures are higher after one of the wildest sessions of the year, with the S&P 500 logging its most significant intraday reversal since the peak of tariff turmoil in 2018 — surging 1.4% early before plunging 1.6% by the close. New York Fed president John Williams helped stabilize sentiment this morning, signaling he “still sees room” for a December rate cut, a notable shift given the stro...

US stocks push higher as Nvidia’s (NVDA) blowout earnings reset sentiment across global markets and help offset a surprisingly strong September jobs report. Nvidia topped expectations on revenue and profit, guided to $65 billion for the current quarter, and CEO Jensen Huang dismissed AI bubble concerns, saying demand “is through the roof” with a $500 billion order pipeline for 2026 . The results s...

US stocks look to snap a four-day losing streak after the S&P 500 (^GSPC) logged its longest slide since August and is now on track for its worst November since 2008. All the major averages — including the Dow (^DJI), Nasdaq 100 (^NDX), Russell 2000 (^RUT), and Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (^SOX) — have slipped below their 50-day moving averages, while the VIX (^VIX) climbs as volatility retur...

US stocks extend their slide for a fourth straight session as both the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq (^IXIC) close below their 50-day moving averages — a technical breakdown that triggered algorithmic selling across major indices. The weakness mirrors global markets, with Tokyo and Seoul each down 3%. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) briefly fell below $90,000 for the first time in seven months, officially wiping o...

US markets start the week lower after a rough stretch for tech stocks and crypto. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) has erased all its 2025 gains, wiping out more than $600 billion in market value since October as investors brace for Wednesday’s pivotal Nvidia (NVDA) earnings. Analysts expect $54.8 billion in quarterly sales — a 56% year-over-year jump — but warn the setup is “more risk than reward” given sky-hig...