Stocks

Wall Street Review: Stocks Hit New Record Highs on Santa Claus Rally

All major averages on Friday ended slightly lower on year-end profit-taking.
Wall Street Review: Stocks Hit New Record Highs on Santa Claus Rally
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Dec. 24, 2025. Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Panos Mourdoukoutas
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U.S. equities reached new records this week, supported by solid economic data, the Santa Claus rally, and light trading volume, which further fueled the market’s gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 1.58 percent for the week to 48,710, holding slightly below the week’s record high reached on Dec. 24. The S&P 500 gained by 2.29 percent to 6,929, also just below its new record high on Dec. 24. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fared the best, rising by 2.55 percent to a new record, while the small-cap Russell 2000 ended 1.06 percent higher.

Panos Mourdoukoutas
Panos Mourdoukoutas
Author
Panos Mourdoukoutas is a professor of economics at Long Island University in New York City. He also teaches security analysis at Columbia University. He’s been published in professional journals and magazines, including Forbes, Investopedia, Barron's, IBT, and Journal of Financial Research. He’s also the author of many books, including “Business Strategy in a Semiglobal Economy” and “China's Challenge.”