<p>Precious metals continue to command the spotlight as Christmas week tees off with gold and silver surging to fresh record highs.</p>



<p>Plus, all major U.S. equity benchmarks are extending gains for a third consecutive session as markets head into a seasonally strong stretch of the calendar. </p>



<ul>
<li>Gold jumped 2.3% to $4,440 per ounce, marking its strongest daily advance in more than a month. Year to date, gold has gained 67%,</li>



<li>Silver rallied 2.1%, pushing closer to the psychologically important $70 level. Year-to-date silver has delivered nearly double that return, soaring 133%. </li>



<li>Shares of gold and silver miners – tracked by the <strong>VanEck Gold Miners ETF</strong> (ARCA: and the <strong>Global X Silver Miners ETF</strong> (ARCA: SLV) rocketed 3.6% and 5%, respectively.  </li>
</ul>



<h2>Midday Trading In New York: </h2>



<ul>
<li>The Russell 2000 climbed 1.6%. </li>



<li>The S&amp;P 500 rose 0.8% to 6,875, trading less than 1% below record highs. </li>



<li>The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 added 0.5%. </li>
</ul>



<p>The session was light on catalysts. Both macroeconomic releases and corporate earnings were absent, leaving investors focused on positioning ahead of Tuesday's second estimate of third-quarter GDP. Treasury yields were little changed. The 10-year note hovered around 4.15%.</p>



<p>Defensive sectors lagged as risk appetite improved. Consumer staples slid 1%, the weakest performer on the day. Utilities, real estate and health care also traded modestly lower. </p>



<p><strong>Paramount Skydance Corp. </strong>(NYSE:PSKY) adjusted its hostile takeover bid for <strong>Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.</strong> (NASDAQ:WBD), maintaining its $30-per-share all-cash offer worth about $108.4 billion and securing a roughly $40.4 billion irrevocable personal guarantee from Oracle co-founder <strong>Larry Ellison</strong>.</p>



<p>Paramount shares jumped 5% on the announcement, while <strong>Netflix Inc.</strong> (NASDAQ:NFLX) slipped 0.8%. In digital assets, Bitcoin advanced 1% to $89,600, tracking the broader risk-on tone in markets.</p>



<p>In digital assets, <strong>Bitcoin</strong> (CRYPTO: BTC) advanced 1% to $89,600, heading for the fourth straight positive close. </p>



<h2><strong>Monday's Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs</strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-table is-style-stripes"><table><thead><tr><th>Major Indices</th><th>Price</th><th>% Change</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Nasdaq 100</td><td>25,510.54</td><td>+0.6%</td></tr><tr><td>S&amp;P 500</td><td>6,885.68</td><td>+0.7%</td></tr><tr><td>Dow Jones</td><td>48,446.29</td><td>+0.6%</td></tr><tr><td>Russell 2000</td><td>2,572.25</td><td>+1.8%</td></tr></tbody></table><figcaption><em>Updated by 12:00 p.m.</em></figcaption></figure>



<p><strong>According to </strong>Benzinga Pro<strong> data:</strong></p>



<ul>
<li>The <strong>Vanguard S&amp;P 500 ETF</strong> (NYSE:VOO) flattened at $688.57. </li>



<li>The <strong>SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average</strong> (NYSE:DIA) moved 0.6% to $484.46. </li>



<li>The tech-heavy <strong>Invesco QQQ Trust Series</strong> (NASDAQ:QQQ) eased 0.6% to $255.11. </li>



<li>The <strong>iShares Russell 2000 ETF</strong> (NYSE:IWM) traded at $257.23. </li>



<li>The <strong>Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund </strong>(NYSE:XLF) outperformed, up 0.9%; </li>



<li>The <strong>Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund</strong> (NYSE:XLP) lagged, down 1.0%.</li>
</ul>



<h2><strong>Russell 1000's Top 5 Gainers On Monday</strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-table is-style-stripes"><table><thead><tr><th>Stock Name</th><th>% Change</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>AST SpaceMobile, Inc.</strong> (NASDAQ:ASTS)</td><td>+12.24%</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Rocket Lab Corporation</strong> (NASDAQ:RKLB)</td><td>+9.64%</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Karman Holdings Inc.</strong> (NYSE:KRMN)</td><td>+8.30%</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Iridium Communications Inc.</strong> (NASDAQ:IRDM)</td><td>+5.82%</td></tr><tr><td><strong>First Solar, Inc.</strong> (NASDAQ:FSLR)</td><td>+5.53%</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<h2><strong>…And Losers</strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-table is-style-stripes"><table><thead><tr><th>Stock Name</th><th>% Change</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Trump Media &amp; Technology Group Corp.</strong> (NASDAQ:DJT)</td><td>-7.83%</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Dillard’s, Inc.</strong> (NYSE:DDS)</td><td>-6.90%</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Dominion Energy, Inc.</strong> (NYSE:D)</td><td>-4.48%</td></tr><tr><td><strong>SanDisk Corporation</strong> (NASDAQ:SNDK)</td><td>-3.57%</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Carvana Co.</strong> (NYSE:CVNA)</td><td>-3.50%</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p><strong>Now Read</strong>: </p>



<ul>
<li>Market Isn’t Positioned For Lower Bond Yields, But Trump’s $2,000 Checks Could Change The 2026 Trade</li>
</ul>



<p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

PSKY

PARA

COST

<p>Gold and silver surged to record highs, with gold up 2.3% to $4,440 per ounce and silver up 2.1% nearing $70. U.S. equity benchmarks extended gains, with the Russell 2000 up 1.6%, S&P 500 up 0.8%, and Nasdaq 100 up 0.5%. Paramount Skydance Corp. adjusted its takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. Bitcoin rose 1% to $89,600. Defensive sectors lagged, while consumer staples slid 1%.</p>

benzinga_article

Warner Bros. Discovery

Paramount Skydance Corporation - CL B

Paramount Global

Target

Costco Wholesale

Kroger

Gold, Silver Rally To Record Highs In Sync, Small Caps Surge: What's Moving Markets Monday?