US Stock Market Today: S&P 500 Slips 0.3% as Crypto Downturn Widens and Treasury Yields Increase

US stocks opened December on a weaker footing as a sharp selloff in cryptocurrencies and rising bond yields prompted investors to trim risk. Major equity benchmarks in the US and Europe moved lower, even as strategists pointed to supportive seasonal trends and upbeat year-end forecasts for Wall Street.

US Stocks Ease As Crypto Selloff Hits Risk Appetite

By late morning in New York, the S&P 500 slipped close to 0.3%, while the NASDAQ 100 also fell 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost approximately 0.5%, and small caps underperformed, with the Russell 2000 down 0.7%. In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 declined 0.2% and the MSCI World Index dropped 0.3% signaling broad pressure across global equities. 

Crypto-linked shares tracked the digital-asset slide. Bitcoin dropped nearly 7% to trade near $84,600, while Ether fell more than 9% to $2,744. Stocks tied closely to the sector, including Coinbase Global and MARA Holdings, fell sharply as traders reduced exposure to high-beta names. A strategist at Miller Tabak also warned that renewed stress in Bitcoin could spill over into broader equity sentiment because of its link to liquidity conditions.

Meanwhile, US-listed silver miners advanced as the metal extended a recent rally, helped by tight supply conditions. Gold miners also gained, despite spot gold slipping neatly 0.2% to approximately $4,232 an ounce. 

Rising Bond Yields, BoJ Shift and Fed Expectations

Bond markets faced renewed selling pressure. The yield on 10-year US Treasuries climbed eight basis points to 4.09%, while the 30-year yield also rose eight basis points to 4.74%. Two-year Treasury yields, which track interest-rate expectations more closely, increased four basis points to 3.53%. 

In Europe, Germany’s 10-year yield rose six basis points to 2.75%, and the UK’s 10-year yield gained four basis points to 4.48%. A rout in Japanese government bonds added to the move. Japan’s benchmark yields touched their highest levels since 2008 after signals that the Bank of Japan may move closer to tightening policy. 

Investors are also anticipating a heavy schedule of US data releases ahead of the Federal Reserve’s next meeting. The calendar includes manufacturing figures, a delayed reading on personal consumption, November’s ADP private payrolls report, and fresh inflation and consumer-confidence data later in the week. 

Market attention also turned to the Fed’s upcoming leadership change after President Donald Trump signaled he had chosen a nominee for chair and repeated his call for interest-rate cuts.

Major Corporate Moves

• NVIDIA puts $2B into Synopsys to tighten chip design control and secure its supply chain.

• OpenAI buys into Thrive Holdings, deepening its financial ties with key ChatGPT backers.

• China’s DeepSeek reveals two new AI models to boost reasoning power and automated execution.

• Strategy Inc. builds a $1.4B cash reserve to avoid forced Bitcoin sales in a downturn.

• First Digital plans a SPAC merger, using easy rules to take its crypto arm public.

• Disney’s Zootopia 2 earns $272M in China, notching the nation’s second-biggest foreign debut.

• Coupang’s huge data breach caps a record year of leaks and exposes Korea’s cyber weaknesses.

Year-End Rally Hopes 

Despite the cautious tone, Wall Street banks maintained constructive outlooks for US stocks. Strategists at RBC Capital Markets projected that the S&P 500 could rise by more than 10% for a fourth straight year. 

Seasonality studies also pointed to supportive conditions. Since 1990, December has delivered the index’s second-best average monthly return, low volatility, and one of the highest frequencies of gains, according to CFRA research. Historically, mid and small-cap indexes have often outperformed large caps during this period.

Also Read: US Stock Market Today: Global Rally Stalls Amid Fed Rate Cut Bets