Stock Market Closing Report - Monday, December 15, 2025
U.S. stocks finished slightly lower on Monday as artificial...
U.S. stocks finished slightly lower on Monday as artificial intelligence stocks extended their recent slide, with investors continuing to rotate away from high-flying tech names ahead of a critical week of delayed economic data.
S&P 500: lost 0.16% to settle at 6,816.51 after beginning the session in positive territory
Dow Jones Industrial Average: slipped 41.49 points (-0.09%) to finish at 48,416.56
Nasdaq Composite: fell 0.59% to 23,057.41
Market Drivers: Certain AI stocks bogged down the broader market during Monday's session, with shares of Broadcom and Oracle—two names that led a rotation away from AI last week—declining more than 5% and more than 2%, respectively. Others like Microsoft also suffered some losses.
The market wiped out an initial 0.5% gain and moved lower after the opening bell, with megacap tech serving as a source of weakness. Small cap names lagged, with the Russell 2000 trailing the S&P 600.
Sector Performance: Investors moved instead to areas more sensitive to the economy, such as consumer discretionary and industrials. They also loaded up on health-care shares. Energy was the lagging sector as both crude and natural gas continued to slide, while biopharma and managed care names mainly traded higher.
BP begins production at Atlantis expansion in US Gulf
BP's Atlantis Drill Center 1 expansion in the US Gulf of America has...
BP's Atlantis Drill Center 1 expansion in the US Gulf of America has achieved first oil two months early. The project, BP's seventh major upstream development to come online this year, adds two new wells tied back to existing infrastructure and is expected to deliver about 15,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day at peak from the Atlantis platform, which can handle about 200,000 bpd of oil and 180 MMcf/d of gas.
Texas to permit discharge of treated oilfield wastewater
Texas regulators are set to issue permits to companies, including Texas...
Texas regulators are set to issue permits to companies, including Texas Pacific Land and NGL Energy, to treat and release wastewater from oil production into the Pecos River. The move aims to reduce underground disposal, which has caused earthquakes and leaks, but critics are concerned about the safety of treated wastewater. The initiative could provide water for irrigation and data centers, but treatment costs are higher than underground disposal.
Chevron CEO Mike Wirth discussed the company's expansion into alternative...
Chevron CEO Mike Wirth discussed the company's expansion into alternative energy, including hydrogen, carbon capture, geothermal and biofuels, at the Wall Street Journal CEO Council event. Wirth emphasized leveraging Chevron's existing capabilities and value chains for these projects while continuing to grow the traditional oil and gas business.
The International Energy Agency cut its forecast for next year's oil...
The International Energy Agency cut its forecast for next year's oil surplus by 231,000 barrels per day to 3.815 bpd, citing slower supply growth and improved demand trends. The agency noted that global stockpiles are climbing, with much of the excess held offshore by sanctioned exporters, even as refinery constraints keep product markets tight. Meanwhile, OPEC left its demand forecasts steady at 1.30 million bpd for 2025 and 1.38 million bpd for 2026, above the IEA's expectations.
