Financial Markets                      12/30 09:26

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks wavered in morning trading on Wall Street Tuesday as 
2025 nudges closer to the finish line.

   The S&P 500 was mostly unchanged. The benchmark index is still on track for 
a gain of more than 17% for the year.

   The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 43 points, or 0.1%, as of 10:02 a.m. 
Eastern. The Nasdaq composite was mostly unchanged.

   The biggest weights on the market remained technology companies and other 
companies focused on advancements for artificial intelligence.

   Nvidia fell 0.3%. Facebook parent Meta Platforms rose 1.9%. Both companies 
have outsized values that have a greater overall impact on the market's broader 
direction.

   With just two trading days left before the year ends, most big investors 
have closed out their positions and volume has been thin. U.S. markets will be 
closed on Thursday for New Year's day.

   The more notable action was again in the commodities markets. Gold, silver 
and copper all resumed their ascent after steep declines a day earlier.

   The price of gold gained 1% and silver prices gained 7% after slumping 
Monday when the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, one of the largest trading floors 
for commodities, asked traders to put up more cash to make bets on precious 
metals. Prices for both metals have surged in 2025 on a mix of economic worries 
and supply deficits.

   Copper rose 2.7% and is up more 40% for the year on strong demand. The base 
metal is critical to global energy infrastructure, and demand is expected to 
keep growing as the development of artificial intelligence technology puts more 
of a strain on data centers and the energy grid.

   Crude oil prices were relatively steady. The price of U.S. crude oil rose 
0.5%. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, rose 0.3%.

   Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury 
rose to 4.14% from 4.11% late Monday. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which 
moves more closely with expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do, rose 
to 3.47% from 3.46% late Monday.

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   Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.

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