Stocks To Watch – 12/22/2025

Brief Overview

Welcome back to this week’s Stocks to Watch!

We hope you’re all having a great weekend. We have a short week ahead of us with a half day on Wednesday and the market being closed on Thursday for Christmas day. As of now we only have one company reporting earnings in the next two weeks with LMNR scheduled for Tuesday. 

Looking back at last week…

Monday: Cautious Start as Week of Big Data Looms
Markets opened lower, with key indexes slipping as investors positioned ahead of a packed economic calendar. Tech and AI-related names were under pressure again after recent weakness, and traders kept a light footprint while waiting for jobs and inflation data later in the week.

Tuesday: Mild Rebound as Sentiment Steadies
Stocks edged up as some rotation into defensive and value sectors helped balance out lingering tech weakness. With rate-cut hopes still alive, the S&P 500 and Dow found footing, though breadth remained modest.

Wednesday: Midweek Lull Before Key Reports
Trading was relatively quiet as the market digested the anticipation of major inflation and employment data. Investors stayed cautious, with narrow leadership holding most of the index gains and volatility measures elevated.

Thursday: Inflation Data Takes Center Stage
With November CPI out, markets moved more decisively. Softer-than-expected prices lifted sentiment and rekindled ideas of future Fed easing, sending stocks higher across major benchmarks. Tech and AI segments helped push the rally.

Friday: Rally Continues to Close the Week
Stocks finished strong. The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow all rose, with tech again leading the way as AI and semiconductor names improved. The S&P and Nasdaq posted modest weekly gains, though smaller-cap and more cyclical names lagged.

Key Takeaway:
It was a bigger-data, lighter-volume week as year-end positioning shaped trading. Early weakness gave way to renewed strength once inflation came in softer, which helped lift rate-cut expectations. Tech and AI names anchored the gains, balancing out lingering concerns about valuations and narrow leadership. Heading into the final stretch of the year, markets appear poised to track incoming labor and inflation reports closely, with clarity on monetary policy next year likely to set the tone early in 2026.