CLOSING BELL
Three More Days Till ‘26
Welcome back to a regular old Daily Rip! Monday started the last week of trade for 2025 with a massive move in metals to bide everyone’s time until new years day on Thursday. Tech sold off, but the drama of the day was a silver pullback. The rare #2 shiny metal was flying and crying on classic end of year speculative buying, and volatility from typical end-of-year illiquidity.
Despite the pullback, the ‘Santa Rally’ technically is still on the up, the market green to the tune of 40 basis points since last Wednesday. If the metals market figures itself out this week and prices turn around, there still could be a rally worthy of the big red guy himself.
Traders have until Monday next week to fit the trend mold with some gains.
SHINY
Silver Glitters Ever Higher, Pulls Back Hard Monday
Silver hit $84 over the weekend, and anyone nerdy enough to check fintwitter on Sunday saw a rush of posts claiming big (unnamed) banks were failing to cover their butts as the internatinal communty bought up as much silver as possible.
Come Monday, it’s clear the ‘Big Short 2: Silver Slaughter’ timeline has not yet come to pass. But, spot silver finished the day down nearly 9% at the time of writing. It might have hit an all time high on Sunday in today’s dollar amounts, but there have been runs on the metal before. In 1980, the price of silver jumped to nearly $50/oz, which in today’s cash is more like $194/oz.
Michael Haigh, FIC Commodity Research at Société Générale, told Bloomberg reporters that precious metals tend to fly at the end of the year. Gold tends to climb 4% at the end of the year, and silver 7%, according to the last decade of average trades.
Newmont $NEM ( ▼ 5.64% ) and Ablemerle $ALB ( ▼ 3.62% ) were both red, miners falling the most of any name on the S&P 500. The miners tend to dig up silver while looking for other resources, but were not complaining as the metal flew.
Some people were complaining, though:
Big names like Musk warned over the weekend that expensive rare earths are bad for business, if your business was making super rare earth batteries for origami shaped cars. In related news, South Korean L&F Co. a major battery material provider, cut its $2.67B contract to make Cybertruck batteries by a whopping 99%. The news contributed to Tesla’s $TSLA ( ▼ 3.27% ) pullback, L&F Co. said the nickel cathode was still flowing toward Tesla’s other projects; it was just the underselling Cybertruck that it was adjusting production for.
Anyway, back to Silver, and speaking of the eastern hemisphere:
Shanghai markets were struggling to deal with silver buying, the price in China jumping to $8 more than London prices on Sunday, retail buying despite warnings exchanges could not keep up with demand.
In line with that fear, the CME raised margin requirements for futures to $25K for traders, triggering debate over is this the top or not. Bulls on Stocktwits, looking forward to 2026, still see industrial demand for AI, EVs, and solar, and Chinese export restrictions as proof of the pudding; while bears are calling the over bought top.
The iShares Silver Trust $SLV ( ▼ 7.19% )was among the top trending tickers Monday, edging 0.68% higher in after-hours trade. Retail sentiment around SLV remained in ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past day.
TRENDING NEWS
From Chips to Drugs, Space to… CapEx Providers, Monday Had It All
Intel $INTC ( ▲ 1.33% ) and Nvidia $NVDA ( ▼ 1.21% ) finalize strategic $5B equity deal
Intel officially completed a $5B private share sale to Nvidia today, issuing roughly 215M shares at $23.28 each. The transaction gives Nvidia a 4% stake in its longtime rival while providing Intel with a critical financial lifeline to fund its capital-intensive foundry expansion. Investors view the deal as a major vote of confidence in CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s strategic reset as the company works to regain its footing in the AI manufacturing race.
SoftBank $SFTBY ( ▲ 1.06% ) acquires DigitalBridge $DBRG ( ▲ 9.63% ) for $4B in AI infrastructure push
SoftBank announced it will acquire digital infrastructure giant DigitalBridge for $4B in an all-cash deal to bolster its "Artificial Super Intelligence" roadmap. DigitalBridge, which manages $108B in assets, provides SoftBank with immediate control over critical data centers, fiber networks, and cell towers. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son intends to leverage the firm’s massive $400B capex potential to build out the physical foundations required for next-generation AI services.
Ultragenyx $RARE ( ▼ 42.32% ) plummets 40% after Phase 3 trial failure
Ultragenyx shares are being crushed, falling over 40% after its bone disease drug, setrusumab, failed to meet the primary endpoint in two Phase 3 studies. While the drug improved bone density, it did not significantly reduce the rate of fractures in patients with osteogenesis imperfecta compared to a placebo. In response to the disappointing results, the company announced it will implement substantial expense reductions to preserve capital as it pivots toward its gene therapy pipeline.
Intuitive Machines $LUNR ( ▲ 2.95% )recovers as analysts hike targets
Intuitive Machines is bouncing back from recent profit-taking, climbing 4% on Monday after Clear Street raised its price target to $25. The stock has been highly volatile following a recent executive order from the Trump administration that prioritizes a permanent human presence on the Moon by 2030. Big If True, but the stock sold off with the rest of the space equities after an initial rush. Investors are increasingly bullish on the company's $1B backlog and its strategic positioning as a primary contractor for upcoming NASA lunar infrastructure projects.
POPS & DROPS
Top Stocks News Stories
Intel finished a $5 billion private share sale to Nvidia.
Eightco a Dan Ives pick following a $125 million share buyback.
Ultragenyx plummeted over 41% after its Phase 3 trials failed.
Michael Saylor hinted at acquiring more Bitcoin, MSTR bought
IREN and Nebius compete for 2026’s Neocloud investments.
Society Pass soared 34% after launching a live commerce platform.
Airline stocks slid as winter storms caused mass flight disruptions.
STOCKS VIDEO
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