Santa Claus Rally Replaced by End-of-Year Doldrums

Instead of ending 2025 with a Santa Claus rally, Wall Street is stuck in the doldrums. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is down triple digits at last check, while the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are comfortably in the red. All three major indexes are eyeing their fourth-straight decline. Small caps are struggling as well, with the Russell 2000 (RUT) breaching 2,500 on the way to a fourth-straight loss.

Gold and silver prices have retreated after exchange operator CME Group (CME) hiked margins for the second time in the past week. Despite the muted end to 2025, Wall Street is poised to wrap up the year with monthly, quarterly, and yearly wins across the board, with the exception of the Nasdaq, which has slipped into the red for December. 

Bumble Inc (NASDAQ:BMBL) is seeing unusual options activity today. At last look, over 3,300 calls have changed hands, volume that's 10 times the average intraday amount. Most of this activity is centers on the July 3 call, with new positions being bought to open. The dating app stock is down 0.4% to trade at $3.61, but is down 55% in 2025 and is not far off its Nov. 21 record low of $3.18.

Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) is one of the better names on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today, up 4.22% to trade at $63.77, after CEO Elliott Hill bought roughly $1 million worth of stock. NKE is still reeling from a 10.5% post-earnings bear gap Dec. 19, but has finished higher in five of the last six sessions. Year to date, the blue chip is down 15.7%. 

EQT Corp (NYSE:EQT) is near the bottom of the NYSE, last seen down 2.6% to trade at $53.25. The entire oil sector is in the red today, as crude heads for its worst annual decline since 2020. EQT is 16.3% higher on the year but has taken a 13% haircut off its Dec. 5 all-time highs, while also trading in a tight range for the last two weeks.