U.S. stock futures were little changed Friday as traders came back from the Christmas holiday, with the major averages on pace for weekly gains. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures traded around the flatline. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 45 points, or 0.1%. For the week, the S&P 500 was up 1.4%, putting the benchmark on track for its fourth weekly advance in five weeks. The Dow and Nasdaq were also up more than 1% week to date. Wall Street is also coming off a record-setting session, with the S&P 500 setting new intraday and closing all-time highs on Wednesday. U.S. markets were closed Thursday due to the Christmas holiday. “2025 is coming to an end with a few more positives than negatives this year,” wrote Mark Newton, head of technical strategy at Fundstrat. “While the common narrative revolves around an “AI Bubble” and tariff fears, along with volatility possibly surrounding another government shutdown and/or tariffs and inflation, U.S. stocks have largely ignored all of these fears thus far, heading into late 2025.” Investors are also in a historically strong seasonal period, as they await a potential Santa Claus rally. The rally occurs between the last five trading days of the year and the first two of the new year. Data from the Stock Trader’s Almanac shows the S&P 500 averages a 1.3% gain during that time going back to 1950. Treasury yields were little changed Friday as traders came back from the Christmas holiday to wrap up a week that included strong U.S. economic data. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield fell less than 1 basis point to 4.132%. The 2-year note yield shed 1 basis point to trade at 3.497%. Asia-Pacific markets traded higher Friday, with several exchanges in the region closed for the Boxing Day holiday, while precious metals continued their rally for the year. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.68% to close at 50,750.39, led by gains in tech stocks, while the Topix was up 0.15% to 3,423.06. South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.51% to close at 4,129.68, and the small-cap Kosdaq advanced 0.49% to 919.67. China’s CSI 300 rose 0.32% to 4,657.24. India’s Nifty 50 fell 0.41%, and the BSE Sensex declined 0.45%. Australia and Hong Kong markets were closed for the holiday. Oil prices were stable on Friday as investors weighed potential supply risks from developing ‍geopolitical tensions in a thinly-attended post-Christmas ‍session, after the U.S. ‍carried out airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Nigeria and added greater economic pressure on Venezuelan oil. Brent crude futures rose 12 cents, or 0.19%, to $62.36 per barrel. U.S. ‌West ‌Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 19 cents, or 0.33%, ​at $58.54. Silver smashed through the $75 mark for the first time on Friday, with ‍gold and platinum also ‍rising to all-time highs, as ‍bets on U.S. rate cuts and geopolitical jitters fueled investor demand. Spot gold rose 0.6% to $4,505.30 per ounce, after touching a record $4,530.60 earlier, while U.S. gold futures ‌for ‌February delivery climbed 0.7% to $4,534. “Prospect of lower ​U.S. interest rates is still supporting demand for gold and silver, lifting both metals to new record highs,” said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. “Low liquidity is amplifying the volatility across all precious metals.” The yellow metal is ⁠set for its strongest annual gain since 1979, supported by Fed policy easing, central bank buying, ETF inflows, and ongoing de-dollarisation trends. Markets are currently pricing in two cuts next year on expectations of a more dovish U.S. Federal Reserve, keeping non-yielding assets like gold well-supported.