Weekly Market Update – December 29, 2025

Price Return Last Week

S&P 500 +1.4%   S&P Mid Cap  +0.7%    Russell 2000  +0.2%  

MSCI EAFE   +1.2%     MSCI EM +2.1%   

10 Yr US Treasury Rate – fell from 4.15% to 4.13%

Source: Refinitiv Eikon

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Recent News

GDP – Q3: 4.3% (Reuters Poll est. 3.3%) Q2: 3.8%

Economic growth in the third quarter surpassed expectations, growing at its fastest rate in two years.  Consumer spending, exports, and government expenditures all accelerated in the third quarter leading to higher growth.  Residential spending continued to act as a drag, declining at an annual rate of 5.1%, the same as the last report.  Analyst expectations for the fourth quarter remain modest at 3.0%, partly due to the forecasted impact from the government shutdown.  The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the shutdown could cut between 1.0 to 2.0 percentage points off next quarter’s GDP report.

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Thomson Reuters

Venezuelan Quarantine – The White House has ordered a quarantine of Venezuelan oil for at least the next two months.  The U.S. Coast Guard has already intercepted two Venezuelan tankers loaded with crude oil in December, in addition to bombing boats that the U.S. alleges were carrying drugs over the last several months.  President Trump has publicly stated that it would be smart for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to leave power but hasn’t yet made it clear what other aims he has.  While Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, they only produce roughly 860,000 barrels per day, or less than 1% of world oil consumption.

Source: Thomson Reuters, BBC

Durable Goods – Oct: -2.2% (Reuters Poll est. -1.5%) Sep: 0.7%

New orders for manufactured durable goods fell in October after advancing in the previous two months.  Transportation orders were down 6.5% versus the previous month contributing to the decline.  Excluding transportation orders, durable goods were up 0.2% month-over-month.  When comparing to the previous year, new orders are still up by 7%.

Source: United States Census Bureau, Refinitiv Eikon

Brigitte Bardot – Brigitte Bardot passed away on December 28 at the age of 91.  After appearing on the cover of Elle magazine at just 15 years old, Brigitte Bardot would hit stardom by appearing in several notable French films such as “And God Created Woman” and “Le Mepris.”  She would gain cultural notoriety as a style icon and will always be remembered in lyrics by Bob Dylan and Billy Joel in addition to essays by philosopher Simone de Beauvoir.  Bardot retired from acting at the young age of 39 and focused the remainder of her life on animal rights.

Source: The Guardian, Britannica

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Upcoming Events

12/30 – Fed Minutes

1/2 – S&P Manufacturing PMI

Source: Refinitiv Eikon