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Market Update – December 4, 2025
On December 4, 2025, market indexes closed mostly flat, with the Dow Jones down 0.07%, S&P 500 up 0.11%, and Nasdaq up 0.22%. The small-cap Russell 2000 outperformed, gaining 0.76%. This market sentiment appears to be influenced by the anticipation of an interest rate cut next week, projected to lower rates to between 3.50% and 3.75% for the first time since September 2022.
In post-market earnings reports, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) reported earnings of $5.14 per share on revenues of $2.9 billion, exceeding estimates of $4.56 and $2.72 billion, respectively, leading to a 5% increase in shares. DocuSign (DOCU) posted earnings of $1.01, surpassing expectations of $0.92, alongside revenues of $818.4 million, but saw shares decline due to competition from OpenAI. Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE) reported earnings of 62 cents per share, slightly beating estimates, but revenues of $9.7 billion fell short of the expected $9.96 billion, resulting in a 7.6% drop in shares.
On December 5, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report is expected to show a year-over-year increase of 2.8%, up from 2.74% in the previous month, with the core PCE anticipated at 2.9%, consistent with August. Unexpectedly high figures may influence the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions.
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