U.S. stocks hover at record highs in quiet trading after the Christmas holiday

Stocks are mostly flat in quiet trading on Friday as investors return from the Christmas holiday. The session falls within the Santa Claus Rally, a historically strong seven-day stretch for stocks that spans the final days of December and early January, though trading volumes are often thin.

The S&P 500 index slipped 8 points, or 0.1%, to 6,923 as of noon EST. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.2%, while the Nasdaq was down less than 0.1%.

The Santa Claus Rally, which starts on the last five trading days of December and stretches into the first two trading days of January, was first identified by market technician Yale Hirsch in 1972. This year, that means the period began on Dec. 24 and will end on Jan. 5.

“History shows a clear pattern: since 1950, the S&P 500 has averaged a 1.3% return during this period, with positive results occurring 78% of the time,” wrote Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial, said in Dec. 23 research note. 

He added, “For comparison, the market’s typical seven-day average return is just 0.3%, with a positivity rate of 58%.”

The stock market has already had a strong year, with the S&P 500 climbing nearly 18% since the start of 2025. Wall Street has been buoyed by deregulatory policies from the Trump administration, as well as optimism about artificial intelligence’s potential to boost corporate profits.

Gold and silver prices

Gold and silver prices continued to climb, with silver rising more than 4.5% to $74.88 an ounce. Gold was up 1.1%. 

Both precious metals have risen this year as investors have looked for safe havens outside of stocks and bonds, and silver has also risen sharply due supply constraints. Miners like Freeport-McMoRan were among the biggest gainers Friday.

Earlier surges in gold prices partly reflected worries during the U.S. government shutdown. Expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates further in the new year, weakening the dollar against other currencies, have also fueled buying of gold.

Shares of Target rose 2% after The Financial Times reported that an activist investor is taking a stake in the retail giant.

U.S. crude oil fell more than 1% and Brent crude also fell 1%.

Markets in Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia were closed. Most European markets remained closed Friday.