silver continues to fall amid plunge and changes in individual stocks

12/31 U.S. stock markets, last trading day of 2025, silver continues to fall amid plunge and changes in individual stocks

The U.S. stock market started steady on its last trading day in 2025 without any apparent changes. However, as precious metals such as silver and platinum plunged due to additional increases in deposits, the supply and demand sector fell. In particular, it is estimated that cash-securing sales due to portfolio adjustments were affected. In addition, the fall will be expanded further at the end of the year due to the participation of profit-taking sales in shallow trading volume. In particular, there were many economic indicators and important events such as CES, customs decisions, and earnings announcements in January, which led to a decline in the desire to realize profits (Dow -0.63%, Nasdaq -0.76%, S&P 500 -0.74%, Russell 2000 -0.75%, Philadelphia Semiconductor Index -1.20%)

• Variants: CME’s Precious Metals Deposit Further Raises, Clears Speculative Trading

2025 is a historic year when gold, silver and platinum all hit record highs. In particular, silver and platinum saw annual gains of more than 170%, which was attributed to a combination of the Fed’s cut in the benchmark interest rate (accumulated 75bp), improved global liquidity environment following a weak dollar index (-9%), and increased geopolitical risks such as Ukraine and Israel. In terms of supply and demand, the high growth of the AI industry and the increase in demand for industrial goods due to the acceleration of the conversion of eco-friendly energy such as solar and hydrogen intensify the structural inventory burden. However, in addition to these fundamental factors, there is also an assessment that short-term speculative demand centered on option trading and increased leverage accelerated the pace of price growth

As the market overheated, CME began easing volatility over the weekend by raising deposits on futures trading. As a result, the liquidation of speculative funds with high leverage positions led to a sharp drop in silver and platinum prices, and CME announced additional increases in deposits in the face of a technical reversal, reaffirming its commitment to strengthening regulations. As a result, silver and platinum prices fell sharply again on the last trading day of 2025. This suggests that the price impact of short-term speculative trading, along with positive factors such as real demand and liquidity, has been quite significant during the upward process, suggesting that downward volatility may increase in the face of shrinking speculative sentiment in the future

The problem is that this speculative trading pattern is not limited to the precious metal market. Currently, about 55% of options trading in the U.S. stock market are estimated to be zero-day options with a maturity of less than 24 hours, of which about 60% are led by individual investors. As a result, the phenomenon that the index movement is influenced by the option maturity structure and gamma position in the short term rather than corporate fundamentals is being structured. In addition, the mechanical trend-following trading of CTA funds is combined, and the focus on specific stocks and themes is intensifying.

Amid these changes, the issue of CME’s increase in deposits triggered a reduction in leverage in the precious metal market, and some investors’ demand for cash security transferred to the stock and bitcoin markets during the portfolio adjustment process. Of course, some option trading liquidation issues also cause sluggish indexes. In particular, since November, the stock market has shifted from an expectation-oriented phase for AI growth to a box-market market where pressure for profit realization has strengthened as it has moved to a phase of profitability and performance verification. In the meantime, it is believed that the butterfly effect of the CME’s increase in deposits has also burdened the stock market. Therefore, rather than excessive interpretation of the recent decline, it is important whether the twisting of the emergency system is resolved after normalization of trading volume at the beginning of the year

• Featured Stock: Only 17 of the S&P 500 companies are on the rise

Semiconductors: TSMC Rises On News Of Nvidia’s Demand For More Production And Entering Production Of N2 Chips
Nvidia (-0.55%) rose on the news that it requested TSMC (+1.44 percent) to produce additional H200, saying demand is increasing significantly in China, before turning downward as it opened for sale just before the market closes. TSMC rose after announcing that it has begun mass production of 2-nanometer chips. N2 technology offers high transistor density and improved energy efficiency. AMD (-0.55%) also rose along with Nvidia, reflecting increased sales expectations for China, but turned downward before the market closes. Micron (-2.47%) fell due to circulating sales in the sector, with special variables limited. Most semiconductor companies, including Broadcom (=1.07%) and Ram Research (-1.50%), fell. Philadelphia’s semiconductor index fell 1.20 percent

Semiconductors: Most fall as sales digested
Global foundry (-3.31%) fell as Wedbush downgraded its investment opinion to neutral. Storage and memory sectors such as Western Digital (-2.15%), Seagate (-1.67%), and SanDisk (-1.18%) also fell due to the release of profit-taking sales, considering that the increase was significant compared to the beginning of the year. In addition, the supply and demand of call options such as the recent increase in the number of call option sales at the top price are also burdensome. IBM (-1.93%) evaluated investment companies as still undervalued AI leaders, and although positive analyses were raised, they fell due to the attendance of sales. HP (-2.71%) also fell along with IBM due to the issue of increased input costs due to soaring RAM prices. Dell (-1.59%) also fell due to the existence of increased input costs. Coreweave (-3.10%) and Nevis (-1.72%) also fell mostly. In addition, supply and demand in the option market, such as buying put options and selling call options, are fueling the decline in stock prices.

Cars: Mostly Slips Amid Slowing Sales Concerns in 2026
Tesla (-1.04%) fluctuated in a steady range ahead of the announcement of vehicle deliveries in the fourth quarter on Friday, before expanding sales in the second half of the market and eventually closing the fall. Rivian (+0.61%) rebounded from a sharp drop the previous day on the inflow of backlash buying, while Lucid (-3.03%) continued its downward trend. Most secondary battery companies, including Quantum Skape (+0.39%), fluctuate. Lithium-related stocks, such as Albemarle (-0.40%), are limited in change while lithium carbonate prices in China remain flat. Internal combustion vehicles such as GM (-1.23%) and Ford (-0.83%) fell after analysts said sales would continue to slow down in 2026.

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