Wall Street Indexes Hovered Near Record Highs as Investors Overlooked Economic Updates

Barry Adams
24 Dec, 2025
New York City

Stocks on Wall Street lacked momentum as investors avoided taking additional exposure ahead of the Christmas holiday.

The S&P 500 index edged up 0.1%, and the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite flatlined, and benchmark indexes hovered near record highs. 

Gold continued to scale new highs amid elevated and unresolved geopolitical tensions and persistent worries about the U.S. federal government debt. 

The S&P 500 index closed at a new record high in the previous session following a rebound in artificial intelligence-linked stocks. 

Investors remained cautious despite the U.S. economic growth accelerating in the third quarter, and economists signaled that GDP data are likely to be sharply revised in the months ahead. 

Moreover, economic growth in the fourth quarter is likely to take a hit because of the 43-day federal government shutdown. 

The New York Stock Exchange will close on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. ET and will be closed on Thursday for Christmas Day. 

However, federal government agencies are closed between December 24 and December 26 and reopen on Monday.   

 

U.S. GDP Growth Accelerated In Third Quarter

Market sentiment recovered after the preliminary estimate of the U.S. economic growth in the third quarter surpassed expectations. 

GDP in the third quarter expanded at an annual pace of 4.3%, accelerating from 3.8% in the second quarter, according to a Commerce Department report released Tuesday. 

The increase in economic activities was mainly driven by a 3.5% rise in consumer spending from 2.5% and exports expanding 8.8% from -1.8% in the second quarter, respectively. 

Government spending recovered to an increase of 2.2% from a decline of 0.1% in the previous quarter, driven by the persistent rise in defense spending as well as buyouts for federal workers. 

However, fourth-quarter GDP growth is likely to be sharply lower because of a 43-day federal government shutdown. 

Tuesday's report is likely to give the Federal Reserve fewer reasons to raise rates after the next policy in late January. 

 

U.S. Durable Goods Orders Edged Lower in October

Meanwhile, U.S. durable goods orders decreased 2.2% from the previous month, from 2.2% in October to $307.4 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported on Tuesday. 

Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.2%, and excluding defense orders, they decreased 1.5% from the previous month, respectively. 

Orders excluding defense and volatile transportation, a closely watched proxy for business spending, increased 0.5% to $76.8 billion. 

In the first ten months to October, durable goods orders jumped 7.1% from a year ago to $2.9 trillion. 

 

Corporate Profits Growth Rebounded In Third Quarter 

Corporate profits increased by 4.2% in the third quarter, according to the preliminary estimate provided by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. 

Corporate profits represent the portion of the total income earned from current production that is accounted for by U.S. corporations. 

Seasonally adjusted corporate profits with inventory valuation adjustments increased to an annual pace of $4.19 trillion from $4.12 trillion in the third quarter a year ago. 

Profits at the domestic financial industry rose to $824.9 billion from $680.9 billion, and at the non-financial industry, they increased to $2.75 trillion from $2.66 trillion a year ago.