U.S. Stock Futures Quiet as S&P 500 Nears Record
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Dec 24 2025
0mins
Should l Buy INTC?
Stock index futures were quiet in early pre-market trading ahead of a similarly muted holiday shortened session. U.S. stock markets closed at 1 pm ET and bond markets close at 2 pm ET.The S&P 500 index managed to hold near a record following the thin holiday trading as investors parsed labor market data for additional clues on the Federal Reserve's interest rate path. The move in the benchmark index follows four-straight sessions of gains. The Dow also gained, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index closed little changed.Initial jobless claims fell to 214,000 for the week ended December 20, which was below expectations, and continuing jobless claims rose 38,000 to 1.92M in the latest survey.On the commodities front, gold prices climbed to another record, above $4,500 an ounce, while silver and platinum prices also hit records and copper heads for a 40% annual gain.Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with this market wrap Fly By.STOCK NEWS:Intelshares slid afterthat Nvidiarecently tested out whether it would manufacture its chips using Intel's 18A production process, but stopped moving forwardSanofiagreed toof Dynavax Technologiesfor $15.50 per share in cash, reflecting a total equity value of $2.2BBPreached ana 65% shareholding in Castrol to Stonepeak, at an enterprise value of $10.1B, resulting in total net proceeds of $6BWALL STREET CALLS:NorthcoastCostcoto Buy with a $1,100 price targetRaymond JamesKB Hometo Market Perform following the company's "disappointing" Q4 reportComstock Inc.to Market Perform at Noble CapitalSpire Globalto Neutral from Buy at Alliance Global3. AROUND THE WEB:Ares Managementis open to buying a private equity firm in an attempt to bolster its leveraged buyout business,Bitcoin mining companies like Core Scientific, Cipher Mining, Iren, and CleanSparkhave transitioned to artificial intelligence data centers,Hondawill acquire LG Energy Solution's facilities and other assets from their joint battery plant in Ohio for approximately $2.9B,A federal judge has blocked a Texas law requiring companies that run mobile app stores, like Appleand Google, to verify ages of users,4. MOVERS:Agios Pharmaceuticalsincreased after thein anemia patientsEdgewise Therapeuticsgained afterfrom its Phase 2 EDG-7500 trialUiPathclosed higher after beingin the S&P 400 at the open on January 1, 2026Tesla (TSLA) fell afterthe NHTSA has opened a probe into the Model 3 vehicle over door release controlsBrandywine Realtyclosed lower after being picked toon the S&P 600INDEXES:The Dow rose 288.75, or 0.60%, to 48,731.16, the Nasdaq gained 51.46, or 0.22%, to 23,613.31, and the S&P 500 advanced 22.26, or 0.32%, to 6,932.05.
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Analyst Views on INTC
Wall Street analysts forecast INTC stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for INTC is 39.30 USD with a low forecast of 20.00 USD and a high forecast of 52.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
29 Analyst Rating
5 Buy
19 Hold
5 Sell
Hold
Current: 48.240
Low
20.00
Averages
39.30
High
52.00
Current: 48.240
Low
20.00
Averages
39.30
High
52.00
About INTC
Intel Corporation is a global designer and manufacturer of semiconductor products. The Company operates through three segments: Intel Products, Intel Foundry, and All Other. Its Intel Products segment includes Client Computing Group (CCG), Data Center and AI (DCAI), Network and Edge (NEX). The CCG is bringing together the operating system, system architecture, hardware, and software application integration to enable PC experiences. DCAI delivers workload-optimized solutions to cloud service providers and enterprises, along with silicon devices for communications service providers, network and edge, and HPC customers. NEX helps networks and edge compute systems from fixed-function hardware to general-purpose compute, acceleration, and networking devices running cloud native software on programmable hardware. The Intel Foundry segment comprises technology development, manufacturing and foundry services. All Other segments include Altera, Mobileye, Other.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Surging Memory Demand: Micron's management forecasts the memory market will grow from $35 billion in 2025 to $100 billion by 2028, indicating that demand for memory chips is accelerating at a pace far exceeding that of the GPU market.
- Rising Prices Driven by Capex: With hyperscalers' capital expenditure budgets increasing, big tech is expected to spend over $500 billion on AI infrastructure this year, leading to shortages in HBM solutions, with DRAM and NAND prices potentially soaring by 60% and 38% respectively in Q1.
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- Surging Memory Demand: Micron's management forecasts the memory market will grow from $35 billion in 2025 to $100 billion by 2028, indicating that demand for memory chips is accelerating at a pace far exceeding that of the GPU market.
- Rising Prices Driven by Capex: With hyperscalers' capital expenditure budgets increasing, big tech is expected to spend over $500 billion on AI infrastructure this year, leading to shortages in HBM solutions, with DRAM and NAND prices potentially soaring by 60% and 38% respectively in Q1.
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See More
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- Tech Sector Weakness: As of February 4, 2026, large-cap tech stocks have declined approximately 3%, making them the worst-performing sector, reflecting investor concerns over high valuations and ineffective AI spending, which may increase the risk of a market correction.
- Microsoft's Financials: Microsoft reported a 66% year-over-year increase in capital expenditures in Q2 2026, although growth for its AI cloud engine, Azure, has slowed; however, its remaining performance obligation surged 110% to $625 billion, enhancing its appeal for long-term investors with a current P/E ratio of 26, below S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 averages.
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- Investor Risk Considerations: While Microsoft is rated a buy by 95% of analysts, Oracle is viewed as a higher-risk investment due to its debt and reliance on OpenAI, necessitating careful evaluation of its future profitability and market performance.
See More
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- Negative Earnings Reaction: Following Disney's fiscal Q1 2026 earnings report, shares fell 7.4%, nearing an eight-month low, primarily due to weak performance in the sports segment and lowered profitability projections for the first half of fiscal 2026, indicating significant market concern.
- Experiences Segment Growth: Despite overall challenges, Disney's experiences segment reported $10 billion in revenue and a 33.1% operating margin in Q1 2025, showcasing strong market demand and profitability, serving as a key driver for the company's earnings rebound.
- Streaming Profitability Improvement: Disney's streaming segment saw operating income surge from $189 million to $450 million in the latest quarter, achieving an operating margin of 8.4%, reflecting significant progress in cost control and profitability enhancement.
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See More
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- ARK Fund Involvement: Cathie Wood's ARK Space & Defense Innovation ETF and ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF invested $1.6 million and $3.9 million in Aerovironment shares respectively, further validating market recognition of the company's technology.
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See More
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- Revenue Growth: Despite generating only $22 million in revenue over the first nine months of 2025, D-Wave's revenue tripled compared to the previous year, indicating potential market demand, although it faces pressure from a valuation exceeding $7 billion.
- Market Volatility: D-Wave's stock dropped 19% in January, reflecting investor concerns over the growth of its quantum annealing system sales and the progress of its gate-model system development, which may lead to further price fluctuations in the future.
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See More
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- Stock Volatility: IonQ's stock has declined by 14% year-to-date in 2026, despite reaching a 52-week high of $84.64 in October 2025, indicating a cautious market sentiment regarding its future growth potential and presenting a potential buying opportunity for investors.
- Technology Expansion: IonQ has strengthened its quantum computing platform through acquisitions like Skyloom and SkyWater Technology, enhancing its capabilities in quantum chip manufacturing and network construction, which will help address challenges in quantum data transmission and improve its competitive position in the market.
- Financial Situation: Despite a 222% year-over-year revenue increase to $39.9 million in Q3, IonQ faced significant financial pressure with operating expenses soaring to $208.7 million, resulting in an operating loss of $168.8 million, highlighting the costs associated with its aggressive expansion strategy.
- Future Outlook: IonQ expects sales to range between $106 million and $110 million in 2025, a substantial increase from $43.1 million in 2024, suggesting that despite the current stock decline, its potential in the quantum computing sector continues to attract investor interest.
See More
