According to Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi, a perfect storm of softness in the job market, uncertainty around inflation and mounting geopolitical tensions are likely result in some bold rate cuts in early 2026 by the Fed. While other economists predict modest reductions over the coming year, he predicts the central bank will deliver three quarter-point cuts by mid-2026.
Popular Wedbush analyst Dan Ives has revealed his top AI stock picks for 2026. These include:
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT)
Palantir Technologies (Nasdaq: PLTR)
Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA)
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL)
CrowdStrike Holdings (Nasdaq: CRWD)
Dan Ives is focusing his key theme on the “AI revolution among hyperscalers,” spotlighting the consumer side with Apple and the enterprise through Palantir and CrowdStrike. He predicts Palantir could soar to a $1 trillion valuation in the coming years, a pretty wild bet. Despite Nvidia missing his top five picks for the coming year, the analyst remains bullish, crowning CEO Jensen Huang as the “godfather of AI.” On top of that, he’s calling for an Oracle “renaissance.”
Below are the year-to-date performance tallies for some of 2025’s biggest gainers:
Western Digital (Nasdaq: WDC) up 284%
Micron Technology (Nasdaq: MU) up 238.9%
Seagate Tech (Nasdaq: STX) up 221.1%
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As the markets embrace their curtain call for 2025, they are lower across the board but remain on pace for a solid full-year performance. Each of the three major stock market averages are down fractionally, including the Nasdaq Composite. However, for the year, the markets maintained momentum, posting double-digit percentage gains. In 2025, the Nasdaq Composite advanced 21.1% while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 17.1% and 13.5%, respectively.
Alongside the final day of stock market trading in 2025 emerges another milestone: Warren Buffett’s final day at the helm of his company, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK- | BRK-B Price PredictionB) as CEO. On the economic front, U.S. initial jobless claims dropped to 199,000 for the week ending December 27, coming in well below the consensus estimate of 218,000.
According to reports, Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) is in talks with Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM) to bolster production of its H200 GPUs, driven by surging demand from Chinese tech companies. So far, orders have totaled approximately 2 million units, far surpassing Nvidia’s current inventory of 700,000, per Reuters.
Here’s a look at where things stand as of morning trading:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 48,295.86 Down 71.19 (-0.15%)
Nasdaq Composite: 23,380.85 Down 38.22 (-0.16%)
S&P 500:6,887.15 Down 9.46 (-0.14%)
Micron Technology (Nasdaq; MU) is shaving 2% off its value today as some profit taking seemingly unfolds in this hot stock. For the year, MU stock has soared by a triple digit percentage as it takes its place in the AI-demand era.
AppLovin (Nasdaq; APP) stock is falling by 1% today but was an investor favorite in 2025, tacking on 111% year-to-date.
Nike (NYSE: NKE) is tacking on 1.7% today amid insider buying from the likes of the company’s CEO as well as board member and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) CEO Tim Cook. Nike stock has taken it on the chin in 2025, sinking nearly 18%.
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Gerelyn Terzo is the author of dividend investing handbook "Dividend Investing Strategies: How to Have Your Cake & Eat It Too." A veteran financial journalist, she covers agri-finance for outlets like Global AgInvesting and the broader stock market and personal finance for 24/7 Wall Street. She began at CNBC and later helped launch Fox Business in New York. Gerelyn currently resides in Woodland Park, Colorado and dabbles in nature photography as a hobby.
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