Wall Street ends lower, S&P 500 marks 16% yearly profit

US stock indexes declined in Wednesday’s session amid thin liquidity in the final trading day of 2025, while Wall Street still posted strong gains for the year.

Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting, released on Tuesday, revealed a sharp split among policymakers over the decision to cut interest rates earlier this month.

The minutes also showed that policymakers broadly supported continuing to ease policy if inflation slows over time, in line with expectations.

Projections from the 19 officials who attended the December meeting – including 12 voting members – pointed to the possibility of one additional rate cut in 2026 followed by another in 2027, which could bring the policy rate close to 3%, a level officials consider “neutral,” meaning it neither restrains nor significantly stimulates economic growth.

At the close of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.6%, or 303 points, to 48,306 points. Despite the decline, the index posted annual gains of 12.5% and a monthly increase of 0.7% in December, after hitting an intraday high of 48,394 points and a low of 48,050 points.

The broader S&P 500 declined by 0.7%, or 50 points, to 6,845 points. The index recorded annual gains of about 16.4% in 2025, its strongest performance since 2020, while posting a monthly loss of roughly 0.1%. It reached a high of 6,901 points and a low of 6,844 points during the session.

The Nasdaq Composite also fell by 0.7%, or 177 points, to 23,242 points. The index surged 20.4% on an annual basis, but posted a monthly decline of 0.5%. It touched a session high of 23,445 points and a low of 23,237 points.