Market Update

S&P 500 futures increased by 0.44% this morning, recovering slightly after a 1.07% drop on Friday, which followed a new all-time high on December 11.

Year-to-date, the index is still up 16%, outperforming the average U.S. stock market. However, analysts often express concerns about the influence of the “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks. Remarkably, from October 2022 to November 2025, this small group of companies contributed roughly 75% to the rise of the S&P 500.

As the year winds down, it’s interesting to note that only two of these stocks—Alphabet and Nvidia—have actually outperformed the broader market year-to-date.

What seems to be unfolding is a scenario where investors are selectively choosing their “winners” in tech, rather than just investing broadly in indexes or tech in general. If you’re feeling uneasy about the spending on AI pushing tech stocks into a potential bubble, having those concerns might be quite reasonable.

A clear case is Oracle, which has gained a respectable 14% this year, yet is down 42% from its peak in September. Investors appear wary of Oracle’s increasing debt levels to fund its AI developments, especially given the interest rates above risk-free benchmarks.

Despite this, Wall Street hasn’t jumped to label the AI boom as a bubble just yet. Deutsche Bank analysts Adrian Cox and Stéphane Avredan indicated in a recent research note that if this is a bubble, it’s still in the early phases.

Capital expenditures and returns have indeed been tangible, particularly for Alphabet and Nvidia, which is part of the reason for their healthy valuations. “This surge is spearheaded by well-established tech giants with diverse revenue streams, often financing their data center investments through free cash flow that provides immediate returns to their enterprise clients,” the analysts noted.

“We believe assertions of a bubble thus far are overstated,” they added.

Meanwhile, Asian markets saw declines today, contrasting with a generally positive start in European markets. As of this writing, the STOXX Europe 600 index rose by 0.63%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.74%.

This snapshot reflects the market just before the opening bell in New York this morning.

• S&P 500 futures: up 0.44% this morning, after closing 1.07% lower in early trading.
• STOXX Europe 600: up 0.63% in early trading.
• FTSE 100: up 0.74% in early trading.
• Nikkei Stock Average: down 1.31%.
• CSI 300: down 0.63%.
• Kospi: down 1.84%.
• Nifty 50: down 0.12%.
• Bitcoin: valued at $89,000.