Wall Street's major indexes ended lower in the final trading session of 2025, with little fresh economic data for investors to chew on apart from a drop in both first-time and continuing claims for jobless benefits in recent weeks.

Still, all three indices logged solid gains for the full year.

The Dow added 13 percent in 2025, the broad-based S&P 500 advanced 16.4 percent and the tech-focused Nasdaq surged 20.4 percent over the year.

"Generally speaking, 2025 was a spectacular year for equities," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

Across the globe, stock markets struck record highs and enjoyed double-digit gains in 2025, thanks in large part to interest rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve following drops in inflation.

"To push meaningfully higher in 2026, equities will need confirmation that the Fed can deliver at least the two rate cuts still priced by the market, with growth unimpeded," noted Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.

Minutes of the Fed's policy meeting in December, which were released on Tuesday, indicated that most of its officials see future rate cuts as appropriate, should inflation cool over time as expected.

A surge in the tech sector on the back of the vast amounts of cash pumped into AI also helped push stocks to record highs, but concerns that valuations of AI stocks are too high gnawed at investors late in 2025.

AI chip juggernaut Nvidia became the world's first US$5 trillion company at the end of October, while its current worth stands at around US$4.5 trillion.

The price of gold, seen as a safe haven investment, scored multiple record highs this year.

The precious metal has benefited from weakness to the US dollar caused by the Fed's rate cuts and economic growth concerns triggered by US President Donald Trump's tariffs war.

On Wednesday, the price of silver slid further having struck record highs in December.

Oil prices have retreated nearly 20 percent over the year, pressured by an oversupplied market.

Bitcoin, emphasising the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency sector, soared to a record high above US$126,000 in October before ending the year around US$88,000.

The S&P 500 fell 0.7 percent, to 6,845. The Dow fell 0.6 percent, to 48,063, while the Nasdaq fell 0.8 percent, to 23,241. (AFP/Reuters)