Stock Futures Point Lower to End Year; Silver Slides as CME Hikes Margin Requirements for 2nd Time in Week

Stocks are ending a positive year on a negative note.

A day after major equities indexes closed down for a third straight session, stock futures are pointing lower Wednesday ahead of the final trading day of 2025.

Stock markets will operate a normal schedule and close at 4 p.m. ET today, but bond markets will close at 2 p.m. ET for New Year’s Eve.

Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down a respective 0.3%, 0.2%, and 0.1%. Yesterday, the indexes finished slightly down for a third consecutive session following a five-session winning streak through Christmas Eve, when the Dow and S&P 500 set record closing highs.

Still, the Nasdaq, S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average entered the final trading day of 2025 up a respective 21%, 17%, and 14% for the year. The indexes’ gains have been powered by strong advances by several technology firms, including Micron Technology (MU), up 248% in 2025 entering Wednesday; Palantir (PLTR), up 139%; Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), up 78%; Alphabet (GOOGL), up 66%; and Nvidia (NVDA), the world’s most valuable public company, up 40%.

Investors are awaiting the weekly jobless claims report, due at 8:30 a.m. ET Wednesday, for a fresh data point as the Fed keeps a close eye on jobs as it considers its next move on interest rates.

Silver futures sank 8% to $71.55 an ounce and gold futures declined 1.5% to $4,325 an ounce Wednesday after the CME Group hiked margin requirements for precious metals for a second time in less than a week amid volatile trading.

The 10-year Treasury yield, which influences interest rates on a variety of commercial and consumer loans, slipped to 4.11% from Tuesday’s close of about 4.13%.

Bitcoin was trading at $88,700, up from overnight lows of about $87,800. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies, ticked higher to 98.32.

West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, were up 0.3% to $58.10 per barrel.