Where are you, Santa? It’s been the same question for the past few years, as stocks have not staged much of a year-end rally despite the final week being historically bullish.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) returned 1% in December, with the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) finishing flat. For the year, US large caps returned 18%, outperforming their small and mid-cap peers, but lagging the international equity market.
The Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) was down fractionally in 2025’s final month, while the Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF (VEU) returned almost 3%. Over in the bond market, the Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) was close to unchanged.
The US Dollar ETF (UUP) shed 1%, but both the WTI
Crude Oil ETF (USO) and the Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) were lower by between 2% and 4%. Gold rose, though, posting a better-than 60% 2025 advance—its best year since 1979. Silver was up even more. The VIX closed 2026 under 15.
International Markets Led in December, SPY Near Flat
Gold Soared, Stocks Rose, Oil/ Bitcoin/ Dollar All Dropped in 2025
Best S&P 500 stock in 2025? WDC +278%... Worst TTD -68%.
Silver Led in 2025
US vs. ex-US stocks: worst year since 2009... Or, for diversified investors, best year since 2009
Digging into the S&P 500 sector ETFs, Financials snatched the top spot, ascending 4%, but there were gains in other areas. The best S&P 500 Index sector—Communication Services—tacked on 3%, with comparable gains in cyclical areas like Materials (XLB), Industrials (XLI), and Consumer Discretionary (XLY).
Five of the 11 were negative in December, however. Utilities (XLU) was the primary drag, perhaps due to higher long-term interest rates and some steam being let out of the AI trade.
S&P 500 Sector ETF December Performances
Dollar: DXY worst year since 2017
Turning to the
