Stocks End 2025 With More Losses

Wall Street fell on the final day of trading for 2025, a banner year for markets that was driven by both optimism and uncertainty.

• The S&P 500 fell 50.74 points, or 0.7%, to 6,845.50.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 303.77 points, or 0.6%, to 48,063.29.
• The Nasdaq composite fell 177.09 points, or 0.8%, to 23,241.99.

Trading was very light ahead of the New Year's Day holiday Thursday, when markets will be closed, the AP reports. The S&P 500 rose more than 16% this year as investors embraced the optimism surrounding artificial intelligence and its potential for boosting profits for companies.

All of the sectors in the S&P 500 were in the red Wednesday, with technology stocks among the biggest drags on the market. Western Digital fell 2.1% and Micron Technology was down 2.5%. Trading in precious metals continued to be volatile as the year winds down. Silver swung back to a big loss, giving back 9.1% after Tuesday's gain of more than 10%. Following Friday's 7.7% jump, silver lost nearly 9% on Monday. It's still up more than 140% this year. Gold was down 1.2%, but is still up about 64% in 2025.

Wall Street's 2025 gains came as investors embraced the optimism surrounding artificial intelligence and its potential for boosting profits across almost all sectors. But the market had no shortage of turbulence along the way amid President Trump's on-again, off-again tariffs on imported goods worldwide and uncertainty over the trajectory of interest rates. The S&P 500 plunged nearly 5% on April 3, its worst day since the 2020 COVID crash. It fell another 6% a day later, after China's response raised fears of an escalating trade war. Trump eventually put his tariffs on pause and negotiated agreements with countries to lower his proposed tariff rates on their imports, helping calm investors' nerves.

Strong profit reports from companies and three cuts to interest rates by the Federal Reserve also helped drive markets higher. Still, the AI frenzy that drove markets in 2025 did not come without concerns. Chief among them is the worry that artificial intelligence technology may not produce enough profits and productivity to make all the investment worth it. That could keep the pressure on AI stocks like Nvidia and Broadcom, which were responsible for much of the market's gains this year. And it's not just AI stocks that critics say are too pricey. Stocks across the market still look expensive after their prices climbed faster than profits, the AP reports.