The market finished with a whimper on Friday, which wasn't surprising since the rest of the nation had the day off. Still, there was a celebratory mood for Christmas week.

The market posted substantial gains in the week, led by large-cap growth -surprise!

 

 

Basic Materials (XLB), Health Care (XLV), and Real Estate (XLRE) caught bids, as there is a great sense cyclical stocks will outperform in 2026.

Bottom Fishing

Another theme that has been emerging for weeks and should play out nicely next year is bottom fishing. Big gainers on Friday are still down a lot for 2025, and big decliners were up a lot (Moderna, Inc (MRNA) and Texas Pacific Lane Corp (TPL) continue to crash).

Strong Remain Strong

I’m rooting for greater market participation, but the spike in names changing hands above their 20-day moving average plummeted, as breadth narrowed once again, bedecking those playing the rotation guessing game.

Cool, Calm, & Collected

Market mavens and historians began writing the story of 2025 weeks ago, and all agreed a significant chapter should be dedicated to extreme volatility. While it's true the financial media sent the stock market into a tailspin leading up to “Tariff Day,” their real story is the market’s resolve.

Last week, the Volatility Index (VIX) dipped five days in a row, closing below 13.5%. In recent years, this has foreshadowed monster returns in the months that follow. If this is a harbinger of things to come, buckle up and stay the course.

Holiday Spirit

The Goldman Sachs (GS) Sentiment gauge is flashing an overoptimistic signal. I think it’s a strong signal, not a contrarian one. Meanwhile, retail investors are more cautious and less bullish, but bullishness remains unchanged. I think that’s rational thinking, and again, not a contrarian one.

Today’s Session

It looks like a lot of profit-taking early in the session, even in names with Wall Street upgrades.  Overall, it feels lackluster, which invites more selling than buying.

The folks at Bluekurtic say this is normal behavior for Day 3 of a Santa Claus rally. 

Comments

Donate more to charity. Help children. Anita on 12/29/2025 10:42:12 AM

I think I am not alone here with other fans who are AT&T retirees who have acquired shares of AT&T of the years of payroll deductions plus Warner Brothers due to various stock manipulations over the years. Now there seems to be a hustle take over in the works with mailing urging to sell shares for cash offer of $30 within the next two weeks. As the stock is creeping up concerned with information on internet. Possibly can you have a guest comment? Lanse Kauffman on 1/10/2026 11:08:02 PM

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