The S&P 500, the Dow and the Nasdaq are all within touching distance of record highs, having surged through 2025, with U.S. president Donald Trump predicing a 2026 “boom.” However, as traders brace for the "biggest merger in history, the $3 trillion bitcoin and crypto market could be flashing a warning sign to stocks.

The benchmark S&P 500 hit its latest record, setting up Wall Street to ride into the Christmas holiday on a high note.

U.S. stocks closed higher on Wednesday, as the Dow Industrials and S&P 500 registered record closing highs in a broad rally during a holiday-shortened session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 288.

The NASDAQ and New York Stock Exchange will both close at 1 p.m. ET on Christmas Eve, according to their websites. The stock and bond markets will reopen for regular hours, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Friday, Dec. 26 until the next scheduled closure is on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in observance of the new year.

Wall Street analysts expect another strong year in stocks in 2026, propelled by continued AI sector gains and additional Fed interest-rate cuts.

The U.S. stock market is closing the books on a third straight year of double-digit percentage gains. A fourth stellar year in 2026 may be a tall order, requiring strong earnings, a dovish Federal Reserve and strong artificial intelligence spending.