Stock Indexes Close Lower to Begin December Trading; Big Tech, Crypto-Tied Shares Drop Amid Risk-Off Sentiment

Wall Street Continues to Underestimate the Growth of Magnificent Seven Companies. Here’s Why.

7 hr 9 min ago

At first glance, the Magnificent Seven had a bit of a stinker of a third quarter. But dig deeper, and there’s reason to believe Wall Street is underestimating tech’s heavy hitters.

The Mag 7—Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META) and Tesla (TSLA)—reported third quarter earnings growth of 18.4%, the group’s slowest growth rate since the first quarter of 2023, according to FactSet Research analyst John Butters.

But that figure comes with a big caveat: Meta’s profit plummeted from the previous year after it booked a $16 billion tax charge. Exclude that one-time expense, and profits actually grew 30%. Not only is that twice as fast as Wall Street was expecting heading into earnings season, it’s also faster than the prior quarter when earnings were up 26%. 

“The third quarter saw a slight acceleration in Mag Seven earnings growth, suggesting to us that estimates over the next couple of quarters could be too low,” wrote LPL Financial analysts in a recent note.

Read the full article here.

–Colin Laidley

Shopify Stock Drops as Some Merchants Experience Point-of-Sale Systems Issues

7 hr 30 min ago

It’s never a good thing for merchants to have difficulty accessing their point-of-sale systems. It’s especially bad on Cyber Monday.

Shopify (SHOP) was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 Monday, with shares down nearly 5%, after it said some merchants were having “issues with accessing Admins and POS systems.”

In a recent message on its Shopify Status website, the company said, “We have found and fixed an issue with our login authentication flow, and are seeing signs of recovery for admin and POS login issues now. We are continuing to monitor recovery.”

Despite today’s pullback, Shopify shares are up more than 40% this year.

FDA Plans to Tighten Vaccine Approvals Weigh on These Stocks

7 hr 59 min ago

A report that vaccine approvals could be set to get stricter is pressuring shares of major vaccine makers.

Moderna (MRNA), Novavax (NVAX), BioNTech (BNTX), and Pfizer (PFE) all lost ground Monday, following a report that an internal Food and Drug Administration memo last week proposed new regulatory measures.

An email to staff from Vinay Prasad, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said that data from 2021 to 2024 showed at least 10 children died “after and because of receiving COVID-19 vaccination,” The New York Times reported late last week. Prasad also outlined plans in the email to propose a range of new oversight and review processes for vaccines, without naming any specific vaccine makers, according to the report.

The memo by Prasad, who was appointed in May following the abrupt resignation of Peter Marks over disagreements with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has added fuel to expectations vaccine makers could face an increasingly challenging regulatory environment.

The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA, did not respond to an Investopedia request for comment in time for publication.

Read the full article here.

–Bill McColl

Airbus May Face a New A320 Problem as It Nears Resolution of Software Issue

8 hr 38 min ago

Airbus on Monday announced that the vast majority of its A320 passenger jets have been fixed after a software problem led to the grounding of 6,000 of the planes, but the European aircraft maker may have another issue.

Airbus said fewer than 100 A320s still need updates to address concerns that “intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls.” It explained that it is working with its customers “to support the modification.”

Meantime, Reuters has reported that the company has discovered an issue with the fuselage in dozens of planes. Sources tell the news agency that it’s a suspected production flaw that is delaying some deliveries. However, there are no signs that aircraft currently in service are impacted, the sources said.

Reuters cited industry sources that indicated Airbus had delivered 72 of the A320s last month, below analysts’ estimates. That would bring the 2025 total to 657, while the company has targeted a total of about 820.

Airbus shares are down in European trading. Shares of several U.S. airlines, down earlier this morning, are little changed in afternoon trading.

–Bill McColl

Silver Hits Record High with 100% Price Increase This Year, Far Outpacing Gold

9 hours ago

The price of silver rose to an all-time high on Monday, boosted by tight supply and expectations for future interest rate cuts. 

Silver futures rose more than 3% to surpass $59 per troy ounce for the first time today, extending a run that saw the precious metal close at a record last Friday. With Monday’s gains, silver prices have doubled since the start of the year, outpacing gold, which is up about 60% year-to-date. 

Silver’s rally has been driven by limited supply and rising investor demand. The cost to lease silver—the preferred way to acquire the metal for industrial uses—rose to its highest since 2002 this year, indicating an extraordinary shortage, according to a recent Deutsche Bank report. The firm’s analysts predict that the supply of silver available for industrial use is currently its tightest on record.

Investors seek silver exposure for both its safe haven attributes and its real-world uses. The economic uncertainty that has fueled this year’s historic gold rally is likely also buoying silver. The metal’s also supported by expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month, increasing liquidity in financial markets and raising the appeal of non-yielding assets such as gold and silver. 

Read the full article here.

–Colin Laidley

DoorDash Stock Rises as Sequoia Capital Partner Alfred Lin Buys $102.7M of Shares

9 hr 8 min ago

DoorDash (DASH) shares sold off in November. They’re off to a promising start this month.

DoorDash was of the top-performing stocks in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq on Monday, with shares up nearly 4%, after it revealed in a security filing that Sequoia Capital partner Alfred Lin recently acquired more than 514,000 shares with a value of about $102.7 million.

Even after dropping 22% in November, shares of the food-delivery firm remain up 23% year-to-date.

Will the Fed Cut Rates Next Week? This Tool May Reveal the Answer

9 hr 57 min ago

When you want to know where bank savings rates are headed, it all comes down to what the Federal Reserve does next. That’s because the Fed’s benchmark rate directly influences how much banks and credit unions pay on savings, money market, and certificate of deposit (CD) accounts.

Less than two weeks ago, markets were betting the Fed would hold its benchmark rate steady at its last meeting of the year, pausing after quarter-point cuts in both September and October. But since then, the odds have flipped, with a strong majority of traders now predicting the central bank will make one more 2025 rate cut, at the conclusion of its Dec. 9–10 meeting.

The volatility of Fed predictions stems from several crosscurrents. The government shutdown delayed key economic data releases, leaving the Fed with less visibility on inflation and growth. Meanwhile, the central bankers have had to balance competing information: the job market has given mixed signals and inflation has ticked higher.

The latest pivot was triggered Nov. 21, when public comments from a key Fed policymaker—saying he was open to a December cut—quickly shifted sentiment and pushed market odds back in favor of a quarter-point cut at the next meeting. 

Read the full article here.

–Sabrina Karl

Cyber Monday Trends: Shoppers Spending More While Picking Fewer Items This Holiday Season

10 hr 2 min ago

It’s last call to finalize your haul.

Cyber Monday spending may peak from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. today as Americans make decisions before sales end and collectively spend some $16 million per minute, Adobe said. Online shoppers will have spent $14.2 billion by the day’s end or about 6% more than last year, the software company estimates.

Retail spending over the holiday weekend exceeded Adobe’s estimates, and other analysts also believe consumer spending appears strong. They’ve had more time to analyze the situation: many Americans started holiday shopping early this year and were scouring for sales ahead of Black Friday, said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights.

“Consumers now expect comparable deals to happen earlier during Cyber Week and many are not waiting to hit the buy button,” Pandya said in a statement. “Cyber Monday has essentially become ‘last call’ for big discounts during the holiday season.”

Read the full article here.

–Sarina Trangle

Top Stock Movers Now: Coinbase, Robinhood, Moderna, Synopsys, and More

10 hr 42 min ago

Major U.S. equities indexes lost ground Monday afternoon, as shares of tech and cryptocurrency-related companies pulled back. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq slid about 0.2%, while the Dow dropped 0.4%.

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global (COIN) was one of the biggest decliners in the S&P 500, with shares down about 6% as the price of Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies fell. Shares of Robinhood Markets (HOOD) dropped close to 5%.

Shares of vaccine maker Moderna (MRNA) slumped 6% following reports an official with the the Food and Drug Administration called for a stricter vaccine approval process.

Sandisk (SNDK) shares plunged close to 7%, reversing last week’s gains on enthusiasm for its addition to the S&P 500.

Read the full article here.

–Bill McColl

Bitcoin Price Tumbles as Cryptocurrencies Come Under Pressure Again; Strategy Stock Plunges

11 hr 38 min ago

Cryptocurrencies tumbled Monday morning as risk-averse sentiment returned to financial markets.

Bitcoin (BTCUSD), the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was trading at $84,200 recently, down from a weekend high of around $91,000. Other digital assets, including ether and solana, were also down sharply.

Crypto-related stocks also retreated, with shares of trading platform operators Coinbase (COIN) and Robinhood (HOOD) each dropping more than 6%, making them among the top decliners today in the S&P 500. Shares of Strategy (MSTR), the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, plunged 11%, while bitcoin miner Mara Holdings (MARA) fell 8%.

The price of bitcoin swung wildly in November—hitting a high near $110,000 early in the month before sliding as low as $82,000 a few weeks later—as volatility gripped financial markets, weighing heavily on assets that are perceived as risky.

Barrick Mining Floats Spinning Off North American Gold Assets

11 hr 51 min ago

Barrick Mining (B) may spin off its North American gold assets. Investors seem to be receptive to the possibility.

Barrick shares, which are dual-listed on the New York and Toronto Stock Exchanges, rose nearly 3% in the U.S. on a down day for stocks overall after it said its board authorized management “to explore an initial public offering of a subsidiary that will hold Barrick’s premier North American Gold Assets.

If an IPO is pursued, the Toronto-headquartered firm said, the so-called “NewCo” would be anchored by its “joint venture interests in Nevada Gold Mines and Pueblo Viejo,” as well as its wholly owned Fourmile gold discovery in Nevada.

“While we explore an IPO of our North American assets that could give new and existing shareholders more optionality around jurisdiction in a pure gold company with growth, we will not waiver from our commitment to operate safely, perform to our targets, and deliver our growth projects,” Group Chief Operating Officer and Interim President and CEO Mark Hill said.

Barrick said it will provide an update on its progress at its full-year 2025 results in February 2026.

Barrick shares have nearly tripled in value this year.

Disney Stock Rises After Strong ‘Zootopia 2’ Box-Office Haul

12 hr 45 min ago

“Zootopia 2” did boffo box-office numbers over the weekend. It helped shares of The Walt Disney Co. (DIS) but not those of theater operators.

Disney was one of the top-performing stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the first hour of trading Monday, advancing 1% even with major indexes in the red.

Disney’s “Zootopia 2,” made by Walt Disney Animation Studios, generated an estimated $556 million worldwide, including $156 million domestically, the entertainment giant announced Sunday.

However, shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) and IMAX (IMAX) fell a respective 3.5% and 1.5%, even though both issued press releases touting their recent successes.

AMC said it registered “its highest-attended week of 2025, Monday through Sunday, both in the U.S. and globally,” while IMAX noted it “shattered its box office record for the Thanksgiving holiday period, delivering $40.8 million worldwide for the five-day stretch.” In addition to “Zootopia 2,” both companies gave shout-outs to Universal’s “Wicked: For Good,” which made an estimated $93 million domestically during the holiday period.

Synopsys Stock Pops on $2B Nvidia Investment, Expanded Partnership

14 hr 38 min ago

Nvidia (NVDA) and Synopsys (SNPS) are expanding their partnership. It includes a $2 billion investment from the world’s most valuable company, and Synopsys shareholders are cheering the news.

Synopsys shares surged 7% about an hour before the opening bell after the company and Nvidia disclosed “an expanded, strategic partnership to revolutionize design and engineering across industries.”

As part of the deal, Nvidia invested $2 billion in Synopsys common stock at $414.79 per share. Synopsys shares ended Friday at $418.01 and were near $447 in premarket trading.

“No two companies are better positioned to deliver AI-powered, holistic system design solutions than Synopsys and NVIDIA,” Synopsys CEO Sassine Ghazi said. “Together we will re-engineer engineering and empower innovators everywhere to more efficiently realize their innovations.”

Nvidia shares were down 1.7% before the bell, and its Magnificent Seven large-cap tech brethren were lower as well amid risk-off sentiment.

With a month to go in 2025, shares of Nvidia are up roughly 30%, while those of Synopsys are down about 14%.

Year-End Money Moves to Strengthen Your Finances in 2026

15 hr 7 min ago

New year, new you. To start 2026 off on the right foot financially, you may have to put some legwork in right now.

That might mean finding your 401(k) login and changing your retirement contributions, reading up on new changes to federal tax law, and taking a look at some of your accounts for the first time in a year.

Here are four tips that will help you enter 2026 in a stronger financial position.

1. Contribute More to Your Workplace Retirement Plan

If you’re approaching the end of the year with some additional cash, consider boosting your workplace retirement plan contributions or even maxing your account out.

The contribution deadline for workplace retirement plans, like 401(k)s or 403(b)s, is Dec. 31, so you still have a few weeks (and paychecks) to contribute more. For 2025, individuals can stash away up to $23,500.

For individual retirement accounts (IRAs), you’ll have until next year’s tax deadline, which is April 15, 2026, to max out your contributions for the tax year.

Read the full article here.

–Trina Paul

Coupang Stock Dives After E-Commerce Company Hacked

15 hr 27 min ago

Coupang (CPNG) shares sank nearly 7% in premarket trading after the South Korean e-commerce firm disclosed over the weekend that the personal information of 33.7 million customers—nearly all of its total customer base—was exposed.

Yonhap News reported that the hack started in June and was conducted by a Chinese national who worked for Coupang before leaving the country. The leaked information includes customer names, email addresses, phone numbers, and addresses, and the company is working with South Korean law enforcement and government authorities on an investigation.

“I express deep regret over the recent incident at Coupang that began on June 24,” CEO Park Dae-jun said Sunday, according to The Korea Herald. “We sincerely apologize for causing significant inconvenience and concern to the public.”

Coupang shares entered Monday having added more than a quarter of their value this year.

Stock Futures Point Lower to Begin December

16 hr 39 min ago

Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average pointed 0.5% lower.

S&P 500 futures were down 0.6%.

Nasdaq 100 futures declined 0.7%.