<figure id="attachment_3026712" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3026712" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3026712" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/7c9b9cf3-sp-500-epa-050425.webp" alt="S&amp;P 500 EPA 050425" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3026712" class="wp-caption-text">As inflation lingers and the jobs market cools, investors will keep a careful eye on the health of the world&#8217;s biggest economy in 2026. (EPA Images pic)</figcaption></figure>
WASHINGTON: Wall Street&#8217;s main indexes pulled back slightly on Wednesday, in a mild retreat that still sets the stage for a robust showing for all of 2025.
Around 10 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched down 0.2% to 48,278.16, while the broad-based S&amp;P 500 Index lost 0.1% at 6,886.44.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index crept down 0.1% to 23,387.23.
But all three indexes are headed towards double-digit annual gains, bolstered partly by enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence.
&#8220;Describing 2025 as &#8216;resilient&#8217; might be an understatement,&#8221; said Adam Turnquist of LPL Financial in a note.
&#8220;The economy showed remarkable strength by overcoming higher inflation, a slowing labor market, fewer rate cuts than originally expected, and a sharp rise in the effective tariff rate,&#8221; he added.
He noted that despite these headwinds, growth was steady &#8220;without slipping into recession.&#8221;
Since returning to the White House in January, President Donald Trump has slapped wide-ranging tariffs on various US imports &#8212; with sweeping announcements that jolted markets and strained ties with allies.
As of November, consumers face an overall average effective tariff rate that is the highest since the 1930s, according to The Budget Lab at Yale University.
As inflation lingers and the jobs market cools &#8212; while worries about valuations surrounding AI persist &#8212; investors will keep a careful eye on the health of the world&#8217;s biggest economy in 2026.
For now, a pullback in initial jobless claims for the week ending Dec 27 and released Wednesday &#8220;should be encouraging to a market that has grown more sensitive to signals from the labor market,&#8221; according to Briefing.com.

MatchPoint Times

US stocks set to close 2025 with solid gains

All three of Wall Street’s main indexes are headed towards double-digit annual gains, bolstered partly by enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence.

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