The start of a new year often brings motivation to reset goals and refocus priorities, but by February, real life has usually returned to full speed. That makes this month an ideal time for a financial check-in. The noise of year-end decisions has passed, markets have started to settle into the year, and there is still plenty of time to make thoughtful adjustments before the year gets away from you.
As your fiduciary advisor, Prism Capital Management remains committed to putting your interests first through disciplined, long-term investment strategies tailored to your goals. As we enter 2026, here is a concise review of December 2025 market performance and our outlook for January.
As we close out November, financial markets continued to show steady improvement, supported by cooling inflation, stable interest rates, and generally positive economic data. While uncertainty remains part of the landscape, the overall tone of the month leaned more optimistic than much of the year, providing investors with some welcomed momentum heading into year-end.
September is often a tough month for the stock market, but this year was different. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both climbed higher, helped by optimism around new technologies, strong company earnings, and the Federal Reserve beginning to cut interest rates. Big tech news, like Nvidia’s partnership with OpenAI, also gave markets a boost.
The U.S. stock market showed resilience in July 2025, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reaching record highs despite ongoing trade policy uncertainties. The Dow also trended upward, nearing its first record high of the year. Strong corporate earnings, with 80% of S&P 500 companies beating expectations, and a robust labor market with a 4.1% unemployment rate supported market gains. Technology and consumer cyclical sectors led, with gains of 10.3% and 8.9%, respectively. However, tariff-related concerns introduced volatility, keeping investors cautious.