NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks edged lower in afternoon trading on Wall Street Tuesday as 2025 nudges closer to the finish line.
The S&P 500 fell 0.1%. The benchmark index is still on track for a gain of more than 17% for the year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 120 points, or 0.3%, as of 12:21 p.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.1%.
The biggest weights on the market remained technology companies, especially those focused on advancements for artificial intelligence.
Nvidia fell 0.2% and Apple fell 0.5%. Both companies have outsized values that have a greater overall impact on the market’s broader direction.
On the winning side, Facebook parent Meta Platforms rose 1.9%. The company is buying artificial intelligence startup Manus as it continues an aggressive push to amp up AI offerings across its platforms.
Markets were mixed in Asia and higher in Europe.
The price of gold rose 1.1% and silver prices gained 9.5% after slumping Monday when the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, one of the largest trading floors for commodities, asked traders to put up more cash to make bets on precious metals. Prices for both metals have surged in 2025 on a mix of economic worries and supply deficits.
Copper rose 3.7% and is up more 40% for the year on strong demand. The base metal is critical to global energy infrastructure, and demand is expected to keep growing as the development of artificial intelligence technology puts more of a strain on data centers and the energy grid.
Crude oil prices were relatively steady. The price of U.S. crude oil was mostly unchanged. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 0.1%.
Treasury yields mostly rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.12% from 4.11% late Monday. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which moves more closely with expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do, held steady at 3.45% from late Monday.
Overall, bond yields have fallen significantly through the year, partly because of the market’s expectations for a shift in interest rate policy at the Fed. The central bank cut interest rates three times late in 2025, most recently at its meeting earlier in December.
The central bank has been dealing with a more complex economic picture. Consumer confidence has been weakening throughout the year as inflation squeezes consumers and businesses. The continued impact of a wide-ranging U.S.-led trade war threatens to add more fuel to inflation.
Inflation remains stubbornly high while the jobs market slows down. The Fed can cut interest rates to help the economy weather a slower jobs market. But, that could add more fuel to inflation that is still solidly above the Fed’s 2% target. Hotter inflation could stunt economic growth.
The Fed has signaled more caution moving forward and minutes from its December meeting will be released later Tuesday.
Wall Street is betting that the Fed will hold interest rates steady at its next meeting in January.