It was a quiet day for both the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) on the second day of the “Santa Rally” as both ETFs closed near breakeven.
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However, followers of seasonality were let down, as December 26 has historically been the second-strongest day of the year for the S&P 500 (SPX) with an average gain of 0.49%, according to data compiled by Carson Investment Research.
The day kicked off with China announcing new sanctions against 20 U.S. defense firms and 10 defense executives for selling arms to Taiwan, including Boeing’s (BA) St. Louis defense branch, L3Harris (LHX) Maritime Services, Northrop Grumman (NOC), and Anduril’s Palmer Luckey. The action comes after the U.S. agreed to sell $11.1 billion of weapons to Taiwan last week.
“The Taiwan issue is the core of China’s core interests and the first red line that cannot be crossed in China-U.S. relations,” said a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with President Trump over the weekend to discuss a 20-point peace plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war. Zelenskyy added that the plan is nearly ready, although the two sides still need to negotiate territorial concessions and control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
“The 20-point plan we have been working on is 90% ready,” Zelenskyy said. “Our task is to make sure everything is 100% ready. This is not easy, and no one says that 100% will happen immediately.” The plan’s terms include a reaffirmation of Ukraine’s sovereignty, the return of prisoners of war, and Ukraine becoming a member of the European Union (EU).
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) are set to post double-digit returns this year, with tech billionaires emerging as the biggest winners. The net worths of the top U.S. tech CEOs and founders have increased by over $550 billion to $2.5 trillion in 2025, according to Bloomberg.
Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk’s fortune surged to $746 billion this year, ranking him as the richest person in the world. Last week, the Delaware Supreme Court reinstated Musk’s pay package, giving the billionaire a $139 billion boost. Google (GOOGL) cofounder Larry Page is the second-richest person in the world with a net worth of $257 billion, followed by Oracle (ORCL) cofounder Larry Ellison at $249 billion.
The S&P 500 closed with a 0.03% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 fell by 0.05%.
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