Good morning investors! Pressure remains as investors await data.
Today we cover:
Nasdaq changes
AI under pressure
Managing taxes
📊 Economy and News
New NASDAQ Names
Nasdaq announced a reconstitution of its flagship Nasdaq-100 Index, effective premarket Monday, December 22, 2025.
This annual mandatory refresh ensures the benchmark tracks the 100 largest non-financial companies, often sparking significant buying and selling by tracking funds—especially with products like Invesco's QQQ ETF ($QQQ, ▼0.5%) managing over $600B in assets, leading to short-term volatility.
Additions: Growth in Biotech and Data Infrastructure Six new entrants, driven by strong market cap gains:
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals ($ALNY, ▼1.52%)
Ferrovial SE ($FER, ▲1.05%)
Insmed ($INSM, ▼0.05%)
Monolithic Power Systems ($MPWR, ▲0.31%)
Seagate Technology ($STX, ▼0.72%)
Western Digital ($WDC, ▼2.44%)
Removals: Struggling Retail and Software Stocks Six exits due to sub-threshold market caps amid 2025's volatility:
Biogen (BIIB)
CDW (CDW)
GlobalFoundries (GFS)
Lululemon Athletica (LULU)
ON Semiconductor (ON)
The Trade Desk (TTD)
Global hits:
Australia’s consumer sentiment slides in December on renewed angst over inflation, rates.
India goods exports rise in November despite U.S. tariffs.
Argentina to tie peso band to inflation in exchange-rate overhaul.
China’s economy stalls in November as calls grow for reform.
Trump talks: Trump has sued BBC for $10 bln over documentary on 2021 Capitol riots. Also, he is ‘strongly’ considering reclassifying pot via executive order. Lastly, New Trump tariffs collection hits $200 billion.
Economies: Inflation in Canada holds steady at 2.2% in November. Elsewhere, Sri Lankan economy grew 5.4% in third quarter of 2025. However, surprisingly, Brazil’s economic activity starts Q4 on weaker footing. But, Euro zone industry growth picks up, boosting resilience narrative.
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📈 Stocks
S&P 500 6,816.51 (-0.16%)
DJIA 48,416.56 (-0.086%)
NASDAQ 23,057.41 (-0.59%)
BRENT CRUDE 60.27 (-0.48%)
* Prices as of Dec 16th, 12:20 AM UTC
Debt Worries Pressure AI Stocks; Markets Edge Lower
U.S. stocks closed slightly lower as concerns over high debt levels in AI infrastructure companies weighed on the sector. Shares of Oracle, Broadcom, and CoreWeave declined amid fears of mounting borrowing to fund massive data center expansions and AI investments.
Oracle fell ~2-3% after signaling higher capital spending and debt reliance.
Broadcom dropped ~5% on margin concerns.
CoreWeave slid ~8%.
The broader impact was limited, with investors rotating into consumer discretionary and industrials.
Experts note strong demand for AI compute justifies the spending, provided returns materialize and finances remain manageable.
Interesting: Pentagon takes big stake in new Korea Zinc smelter in Tennessee, will get 10% of company. However, the deal may have some road blocks as the largest shareholder group has challenged these plans.
PayPal said it has applied for approval to form PayPal Bank, which would be able to extend loans to small businesses.
Surprising: Tesla shares rose 3.6% to close at $475.31 after CEO Elon Musk confirmed that driverless Robotaxi testing is underway in Austin, Texas, with no occupants in the vehicles. This marked the highest close of the year with the stock up 18% year-to-date and about 1% below its all-time record from December 2024.
iRobot fell over 70% after the company filed for bankruptcy. It, however, has been bougth by a Chinese company.
Ford Makes Some Changes:
Ford is dialing back its aggressive push into all-electric vehicles, redirecting resources from EV trucks and cars toward hybrids and battery-powered options as part of a sweeping strategic overhaul.
In its announcement Monday, Ford projected roughly $19.5 billion in special items, predominantly in Q4. These costs stem from realigning business priorities and scaling back investments in pure-electric models
💵 Personal Finance
Beware Year-End Fund Distributions: They Could Push You Out of the 0% Capital Gains Bracket
As 2025 draws to a close, many investors with lower income are considering tax gain harvesting—selling profitable investments in taxable brokerage accounts to realize gains tax-free within the 0% long-term capital gains bracket.
For 2025, this bracket applies if taxable income stays at or below $48,350 (single filers) or $96,700 (married filing jointly). Benefits include accessing cash, rebalancing portfolios, or resetting cost basis for future tax savings—all without owing federal capital gains tax.
However, unexpected year-end income from mutual funds or ETFs can push taxable income over these thresholds, triggering 15% or 20% long-term capital gains rates on the excess (plus potential 3.8% net investment income tax for higher earners).
Common surprises include:
Mutual fund capital gains distributions: After a strong market year, some funds distribute large gains (estimates show several with 25%+ of NAV in recent years).
ETF and mutual fund dividends: Both qualified (taxed at capital gains rates) and ordinary dividends count toward taxable income. Classification often isn't final until year-end.
How to plan:
Review last year's tax return for similar payout estimates.
Check fund providers for current year-end distribution projections.
Run precise tax projections before selling assets—exceeding the bracket isn't a full "cliff," but it taxes the overflow.
Consider broader impacts, like higher taxes on Social Security or reduced eligibility for subsidies.
Experts recommend consulting a tax advisor and projecting your full 2025 return to avoid costly surprises.
💰 Be a Better Investor
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