<p>U.S. stock futures are up early Monday morning, following a mixed week that saw rotation out of expensive tech stocks in favor of value, despite the third consecutive interest rate cut on Wednesday.</p>



<p>Investors on Monday will be eagerly awaiting the results of the Empire State Manufacturing Survey, alongside the speeches of Federal Reserve Governor <strong>Stephen Miran</strong> and New York Fed President <strong>John Williams</strong>, both scheduled early in the day, ahead of a slew of other economic data that is set to be released over the course of this week.</p>



<p><strong>See Also: US Tariff Revenue Falls For First Time Since Trump's Import Taxes In April — Massive $38 Trillion Debt Reduction Plan At Risk?</strong></p>



<p>The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.17% and the two-year bond was at 3.51%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 73.4% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged when it meets again on Jan. 28, 2026. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Futures</strong></td><td><strong>Change (+/-)</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Dow Jones</td><td>0.44%</td></tr><tr><td>S&amp;P 500</td><td>0.41%</td></tr><tr><td>Nasdaq 100</td><td>0.38%</td></tr><tr><td>Russell 2000</td><td>0.71%</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p>The <strong>SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF Trust</strong> (NYSE:SPY) and <strong>Invesco QQQ Trust ETF</strong> (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&amp;P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, were higher in premarket on Monday. The SPY was up 0.24% at $683.37, while the QQQ declined 0.17% to $614.65, according to Benzinga Pro data.</p>



<h2><strong>Stocks In Focus</strong></h2>



<h3>iRobot Corp</h3>



<ul>
<li><strong>iRobot Corp.</strong> (NASDAQ:IRBT) is down 81.98% pre-market following the company’s decision to file for bankruptcy, after tariffs took a toll on the company’s margins. <br/></li>



<li>The stock has weak Momentum and Growth according to <strong>Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings</strong>, but has a favorable price trend in the short, medium and long terms. Click here for deeper insights into the stock, its peers and competitors. </li>
</ul>



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<h3>MindWalk Holdings</h3>



<ul>
<li><strong>MindWalk Holdings Corp.</strong> (NASDAQ:HYFT) is set to release its fiscal second-quarter earnings on Monday, with Wall Street expecting the company to report a loss of $0.01 per share, on $4 million in revenue. The stock is up 10.73% in pre-market.<br/></li>



<li>The stock has an unfavorable price trend in the short, medium and long terms in <strong>Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings</strong>. Click here for deeper insights into the stock, the company, and its operations.</li>
</ul>



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"></figure>



<h3>Katapult Holdings</h3>



<ul>
<li><strong>Katapult Holdings Inc.</strong> (NASDAQ:KPLT) is down 9.12% pre-market, following news of the company’s all-stock merger with Aaron’s and CCF, aimed at forming a powerhouse in non-prime finance. <br/></li>



<li>The stock scores poorly on Momentum in <strong>Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings</strong>, with an unfavorable price trend in the short, medium and long terms. Click here for deeper insights into the stock, its peers and competitors.<br/></li>
</ul>



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<h3>Argenx SE</h3>



<ul>
<li><strong>argenx SE</strong> (NASDAQ:ARGX) is down 6.72% pre-market, after disclosing that its Phase 2 UplighTED studies for thyroid eye disease was discontinued after a futility review.<br/></li>



<li>The stock scores high on Momentum, but fares poorly in the Value score in <strong>Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings</strong>, with a favorable price trend in the short, medium and long terms. Click here for deeper insights into the stock, its peers and competitors.</li>
</ul>



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<h3>AMREP Corp</h3>



<ul>
<li><strong>AMREP Corp.</strong> (NYSE:AXR) reported disappointing second-quarter results on Friday, which missed consensus estimates on the top and bottom lines.<br/></li>



<li>The stock scores high on Value, Growth and Quality in <strong>Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings</strong>, with an unfavorable price trend in the short, medium and long terms. Click here for deeper insights into the company, its finances and competitors.</li>
</ul>



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<h2>Cues From Last Session</h2>



<p>Consumer staples, discretionary, and healthcare were in the green on Friday, while information technology, energy and industrials witnessed steep declines. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Index</strong></td><td><strong>Performance (+/-)</strong></td><td><strong>Value</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Nasdaq Composite</td><td>-1.69%</td><td>23,195.169</td></tr><tr><td>S&amp;P 500</td><td>-1.07%</td><td>6,827.41</td></tr><tr><td>Dow Jones</td><td>-0.51%</td><td>48,458.05</td></tr><tr><td>Russell 2000</td><td>-1.51%</td><td>2,551.46</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<h2><strong>Insights From Analysts</strong></h2>



<p>According to The Kobeissi Letter, in a post on X, since 1929, “the S&amp;P 500 has risen in 79% of Santa Claus Rally periods,” with average gains of 1.6%. </p>



<p>Often referred to as the “Santa Claus rally,” this covers the last five trading days of December and the first two trading days in January. The post further noted that “since 1950, the S&amp;P 500 has posted positive results in 79% of these periods.”</p>



<p>It also says that “over the last 8 years, the index has declined during the Santa Claus window only once,” while concluding by saying that the S&amp;P 500 could reach the 7,000 point mark by the end of this year.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div>
<blockquote><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Is a &#34;Santa Claus&#34; Rally on the way?<br/><br/>Since 1929, the S&amp;P 500 has risen in 79% of Santa Claus Rally periods, with an average return of +1.6%.<br/><br/>The Santa Claus Rally covers the last 5 trading days of December and the first 2 trading days of January.<br/><br/>Similarly, since 1950, the S&amp;P… pic.twitter.com/pzhkQUXfIe</p>— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) December 15, 2025</blockquote>
</div></figure>



<h2><strong>Upcoming Economic Data</strong></h2>



<p>Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on Monday;</p>



<ul>
<li>The Empire State manufacturing survey for December will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. </li>



<li>Fed Governor Stephen Miran is also scheduled to speak later at 9:30 a.m. ET.</li>



<li>At 10:00 a.m. ET, the National Association of Home Builders will release its home builder confidence index for December.</li>



<li>This will be followed by remarks from New York Fed President John Williams at 10:30 a.m. ET.</li>
</ul>



<h2><strong>Commodities, Gold, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets</strong></h2>



<p>Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 0.31% to hover around $57.42 per barrel.</p>



<p>Gold Spot US Dollar is up 1.10%, hovering around $4,346.35 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $4,381.6 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot is down 0.09%, trading at 97.940.</p>



<p>Meanwhile, <strong>Bitcoin</strong> (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 1.90% higher at $89,848.10 per coin.</p>



<p>Asian markets were predominantly in the red on Monday, barring the benchmarks in Malaysia and Thailand. New Zealand’s NZX 50 closed up, while Australia’s ASX 200 remains down. Most European markets are higher in early trade.</p>



<p><strong>Read More:</strong></p>



<ul>
<li><strong>Trump Says US Has Taken In More Than $18 Trillion In Investments Thanks To Tariffs: ‘They’re Coming From Germany, They’re Coming From Japan…’</strong></li>
</ul>



<p><em>Photo courtesy: godongphoto / Shutterstock.com</em></p>

ARGX

IRBT

<p>U.S. stock futures rise early Monday, following a mixed week. Investors await key economic data, including the Empire State Manufacturing Survey and speeches from Fed officials. iRobot files for bankruptcy, MindWalk Holdings to release earnings, Katapult Holdings announces merger, Argenx SE discontinues study, AMREP Corp reports disappointing results. Analysts predict potential 'Santa Claus Rally' for S&P 500.</p>

Stock Market Today: Dow Futures, S&P 500 Advance Ahead Of Key Economic Data: iRobot, Argenx, MindWalk In Focus