Weekly Market Recap | Dec 22 – Dec 28

Analyst Highlights

• Market structure: S&P 500 hovered near 6,930 as breadth narrowed; Russell 2000 lagged while megacaps and AI-linked names drove index resilience. 
• Flows & positioning: Persistent concentration risk as 73% of active equity funds underperformed in 2025 amid historic capital outflows. 
• Rates & FX: 10Y Treasury yields held near 4.13%, while the dollar logged its worst week since June, easing financial conditions for commodities. 
• Commodities signal: Gold (+1.9% WoW) and silver (+12.6% WoW) posted outsized gains, reinforcing a late-cycle hedge and risk-aversion bid. 
• Geopolitics: Elevated global tensions-from Ukraine and the Middle East to Africa and Asia-continued influencing energy flows and defense positioning.
• Technology & policy: Accelerating AI arms race reflected in $30B+ tech dealmaking, China’s regulatory tightening, and state-backed funding for domestic champions.

IPO’s in the week

• Silicon Valley Acquisition Corp. (SVAQU, Nasdaq) — A Cayman Islands blank-check (SPAC) targeting business combinations across fintech, crypto/digital assets, AI infrastructure, energy transition, mobility, and other innovation-led sectors, priced its IPO at $10.00 per share on December 23, 2025, offering 20,000,000 shares to raise $200.0M to fund a future merger or acquisition. 

• Social Commerce Partners Corp. (SCPQU, Nasdaq Global) — A Cayman Islands blank-check (SPAC) focused on potential business combinations in the social commerce/direct selling industry, priced its IPO at $10.00 per share on December 23, 2025, offering 10,000,000 shares to raise $100.0M to fund a future merger or acquisition. 

Markets Weekly

1. S&P 500 closed at 6,929.94, down 2.11 points (-0.03%) for the week. 
2. Russell 1000 ETF closed at 378.10, up 2.57 points (+0.68%) for the week. 
3. Russell 2000 closed at 2,534.35, down 24.43 points (-0.95%) for the week. 
4. Russell 3000 closed at 3,934.08, up 23.20 points (+0.59%) for the week. 
5. CBOE closed at 13.60, down 0.48 points (-3.41%) for the week. 
6. Dow Jones closed at 48,710.97, up 348.29 points (+0.72%) for the week. 
7. Nasdaq (IXIC) closed at 23,593.10, up 164.27 points (+0.70%) for the week. 
8. BTC closed at $87,835.84, down $654.18 (-0.74%) for the week. 
9. Ethereum closed at $2,948.57, down $57.50 (-1.91%) for the week. 
10. Solana closed at $125.20, down $0.60 (-0.48%) for the week. 
11. XRP closed at $1.8644, down $0.0384 (-2.02%) for the week. 
12. Gold closed at $4,529.10, up $84.50 (+1.90%) for the week. 
13. Silver closed at $76.49, up $8.58 (+12.63%) for the week. 
14. WTI crude closed at $56.74, down $1.27 (-2.19%) for the week. 
15. Brent crude closed at $60.64, down $1.43 (-2.30%) for the week. 

• Stock-picking struggled as megacap tech led; ~$1T left active equity mutual funds in 2025 while passive equity ETFs took $600B+. 
• S&P 500 hovered near record highs around 6,930, posting its best weekly gain in a month as post-Christmas volumes stayed muted. 
• 10-year Treasury yields held near 4.13%; bonds were quiet but remain on track for their best year since 2020. 
• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index ended flat Friday, closing its worst week since June, easing pressure on commodities and risk assets. 
• Spot gold hit a record, rising 1.1% to $4,528.84/oz, fueled by central-bank buying, ETF inflows, and 2026 rate-cut bets. 
• Gold hit a fresh record, rising above $4,540/oz, as geopolitical tensions, a weaker dollar, and thin year-end liquidity fueled safe-haven demand. 
• Silver surged to a record, crossing $77/oz, extending a historic rally as investors piled into precious metals amid risk jitters and USD softness. 
• WTI crude fell 2.5% to $56.87/bbl as markets weighed Ukraine peace-talk progress that could increase Russian oil supply. 
• AI leadership stayed key: Nvidia rose on a licensing deal with Groq as the Magnificent 7 index fell 0.3% on broader megacap softness. 
• The “Santa Claus rally” window opened Dec. 24; a positive stretch has historically preceded ~+1.4% January and ~+10.4% next-year gains.
• Foreign investors are dumping China commercial real estate at steep losses, worsening a $140B unwind and raising default risks for global lenders.

Politics Weekly

• China revised its foreign trade law to safeguard national interests, strengthen IP protections, and stabilize supply chains, effective March 1, 2026. 
• US forces struck ISIS targets in Nigeria at the government’s request, killing militants as Washington warned more strikes could follow. 
• Nigeria said it’s open to further US strikes after the Christmas Day attack, stressing terrorism is a regional security threat, not a religious conflict. 
• Nigeria secured a $1.2B UAE loan to fund a 56-km section of the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, a flagship Atlantic coast megaproject. 
• Thailand and Cambodia declared an immediate ceasefire after weeks of border clashes that killed dozens and displaced hundreds of thousands. 
• Zelenskiy will meet Trump Sunday to discuss a Ukraine war deal; Trump claimed veto power as Kyiv says its 20-point plan is 90% ready. 
• Ukraine said it struck Russia’s Orenburg gas processing plant and an oil refinery; local officials reported minor damage from a drone attack. 
• Russia launched a major strike on Kyiv and energy sites, killing one and injuring 32+; Zelenskiy is set to meet Trump on ending the war. 
• Trump-backed construction magnate Nasry Asfura won Honduras’s presidential election with 40.3%, while rival Salvador Nasralla disputes the result. 
• US forces chased sanctioned tanker Bella 1 away from Venezuela; the ship retreated into the Atlantic as Washington tightens its two-month oil blockade. 
• Malaysia fined ex-PM Najib 11.4b ringgit ($2.8B) and added 15 years in prison over 1MDB abuse-of-power and money-laundering convictions. 
• China sanctioned 20 US defense firms and 10 executives over Taiwan arms sales, freezing China-linked assets and banning dealings; impact likely limited.
• Israel recognized breakaway Somaliland as a sovereign state, drawing condemnation from Somalia, the African Union, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Technology Advancements in the week

• Alphabet to buy Intersect Power for $4.75B to secure clean electricity and expand AI data centers amid tight US grid constraints. 
• Electronic Arts shareholders approved a $55B sale to Saudi Arabia’s PIF at $210/share, taking the gaming giant private. 
• Nigeria is in advanced talks with Google on a new undersea cable to boost connectivity and reduce single-route failure risk for West Africa. 
• ServiceNow Inc. agreed to buy Armis for $7.75B, its largest deal, expanding cyber threat detection across enterprise workflows.  
• AST SpaceMobile launched its largest satellite, BlueBird 6, on India’s LVM3 rocket, advancing its direct-to-phone connectivity push against SpaceX. 
• Nvidia struck a technology licensing deal with AI startup Groq, gaining access to its low-latency chip tech; some Groq executives will join Nvidia. 
• China launched a national venture capital fund backed by 100B yuan plus three regional funds targeting 50B+ yuan each to back domestic tech startups. 
• ServiceNow agreed to buy cybersecurity startup Armis for $7.75B in cash, its largest acquisition, with closing expected in H2 2026. 

• Coforge agreed to buy Encora in an all-stock deal valued at $2.35B EV, adding AI, data and product engineering; closing expected in ~6 months.
• China issued draft rules for human-like AI, requiring clear user disclosure on login and every two hours, plus ethics, security and transparency safeguards.

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