Stocks looked set to rise in thin trading on Monday, while gold jumped to yet another record as the market bet on a strong end to 2026 for both equities and precious metals.
Futures tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 63 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures added 0.4%, and contracts tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 gained 0.5%.
The three major indexes rallied on Friday, meaning that both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended the week in the green. Investors had been fretting about lofty artificial-intelligence valuations, but a cooler-than-expected inflation reading boosted hopes that the Federal Reserve will carry on cutting interest rates in early 2026.
The final two trading weeks of the year are likely to be quiet due to a lack of meaningful earnings reports or economic data releases. Analysts remain hopeful of a Santa Claus rally, which is when stocks pick up gains in late December and early January as investors reposition their portfolios for the year ahead.
“Even though the market may feel turbulent in recent weeks, stocks have largely stayed range-bound so far in December,” Bellwether Wealth CIO Clark Bellin said. “The year-end seasonal strength may just be the catalyst we need for the market to break out of its narrow trading range.”
Gold futures rose 1.3% to $4,446 an ounce early Monday, putting the precious metal on course to hit an all-time closing high. The prospect of lower rates is boosting bullion, which has more appeal relative to yield-bearing assets such as bonds and savings accounts when borrowing costs fall.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed 2 basis points to 4.17% on Monday. The dollar slipped 0.1% against a weighted basket of its peers, and large-cap cryptocurrency Bitcoin rose 1.3% to $89,666 over the past 24 hours.