Good MorningU.S. stocks slipped Monday as the S&P 500 fell 0.3%, the Dow lost 0.5% and the Nasdaq eased 0.5%, though the S&P remains more than 17% higher for 2025 with just two trading days left. Energy stocks outperformed as crude oil futures climbed about $1.34 to roughly $58 a barrel, giving the sector a lift amid mixed market sentiment.
Precious metals pulled back after the Chicago Mercantile Exchange raised margin requirements for gold, silver and other metals, forcing traders to post more cash and trimming speculative positions. The move came after a massive run this year—gold futures are up about 65% and silver has more than doubled—which regulators cited in tightening trading conditions.
Trading was active across several names, with NVIDIA among the most heavily traded stocks but slipping modestly, and broader tech weakness pressuring the Nasdaq. With a short holiday week ahead and markets closed Thursday, investors have limited time for year-end rebalancing and positioning before 2026. Featured: Need to confirm your interest (Ad) 
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Markets | |
For the last two years, the stock market has been obsessed with hardware. Investors poured trillions of dollars into the companies building the chips, data centers, and infrastructure required to train artificial intelligence. But as 2025 draws to a close, that easy money trade is maturing. The in... Read the Full Story |
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From Our Partners | | According to Yahoo Finance, Elon Musk's latest project could 'upend another industry just as he did with cars and rockets.' Tech investor Jeff Brown - a former senior executive at Qualcomm, Juniper Networks, and NXP Semiconductors - says one tiny chipmaker, 148 times smaller than NVIDIA, is set to supply Musk with 5 billion chips over the next two years.
Early investors in Tesla and SpaceX saw life-changing returns. Brown believes this overlooked chipmaker could offer a similar opportunity, with entry points currently around $50. | | Click here to see Jeff Brown's full breakdown of this chipmaker |
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Technology | |
If you want a 2026 watchlist built around Wall Street’s freshest momentum, start with the names on MarketBeat's Most Upgraded in 2025. Stocks on this list saw the most bullish analyst upgrades over the last year, and many have catalysts that could carry momentum forward into 2026.
The commo... Read the Full Story |
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Energy | |
For three well-known stocks, dividends are on the rise in a very big way. Two companies tied to the U.S. energy ecosystem doubled their quarterly payouts, and a global payments leader delivered a double-digit raise while opening the spigot on buybacks.
Dividend growth—especially double-digi... Read the Full Story |
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From Our Partners | | On July 17th, the House passed the GENIUS Act - and at least one prominent Trump ally is raising alarms. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene claims the bill contains 'the entire setup, groundwork and infrastructure to move from cash to digital currency.'
If the legislation becomes law, the implications for how Americans store and control their money could be significant. There may be a limited window to act before it takes effect. | | Learn what steps you can take to protect your wealth before this becomes law |
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Retail/Wholesale | |
Three consumer goods stocks recently announced significant share repurchase authorizations, and all three now have buyback capacity equal to 5% or more of their market capitalization.
This allows them to add a tailwind to important per-share metrics, such as adjusted earnings per share (EPS), and... Read the Full Story |
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Finance | |
The Q1 2026 earnings reporting season—when most companies deliver Q4 2025 results—is shaping up to be a bullish catalyst for the S&P 500.
Uncertainty and concerns, bricks in the Wall of Worry, kept analysts from lifting their estimates in late 2025, despite the many strengths reve... Read the Full Story |
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From Our Partners | | Without a will, your state's intestacy laws decide how your assets are divided — a rigid formula that ignores unmarried partners, unequal financial needs among heirs, and charities you supported. Outdated beneficiary forms on retirement accounts can send assets to ex-spouses or estranged relatives, regardless of what your will says.
Probate without a will can take months or years, freeze your assets, and become part of the public court record. A fiduciary financial advisor can walk you through beneficiary designations, trust structures, and tax strategy before it's too late. | | Match with a vetted fiduciary advisor in your area today |
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Consumer Discretionary | |
2025 wasn’t kind to a subset of high-profile stocks. Sluggish growth, underperformance, and loss of confidence drove a wave of analyst downgrades that pressured valuations and sentiment.
But downgrades don’t automatically equal “broken.” If you’re building a 2026 wat... Read the Full Story |
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Markets | |
Income investors have been on a bumpy ride since mid-2024. Since then, the Federal Reserve has cut interest rates six times, including a 25-basis point cut at the Dec. 10, 2025 meeting.
In turn, debt securities have become less popular, with shorter-dated Treasury bills quickly approaching 3.5% ... Read the Full Story |
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Technology | |
Recent events have rattled investor confidence in semiconductor giant Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO). The company’s latest earnings release led to a dramatic sell-off.
After reaching an all-time closing high of around $412 on Dec. 10, shares dropped as much as 21%, closing near $325 on Dec. 17. ... Read the Full Story |
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Technology | |
Verizon (NYSE: VZ) is 2025’s Dog of the Dow. The Dogs of the Dow list includes the index's top 10 dividend yields, which are expected to outperform the index over the subsequent year, according to popular theory.
On the official 2025 Dogs of the Dow list (ranked by dividend yield as of Dec.... Read the Full Story |
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Energy | |
High-end semiconductors and large language models (LLMs) dominate the discussion when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI).
Advanced chips are arguably the most important resource for developing AI, and LLMs are the main way people interact with AI today. However, developing AI requires many... Read the Full Story |
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Tuesday's Early Bird Stock Of The Day DICK's Sporting Goods, Inc. engages in the retailing of an extensive assortment of authentic sports equipment, apparel, footwear, and accessories. It also offers its products both online and through mobile applications. The company was founded by Richard T. Stack in 1948 and is headquartered in Coraopolis, PA. | | View Today's Stock Pick |
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