The Trade Desk stock price crashed by 68% in 2025, making it the worst performer in the S&P 500 Index. Its crash led to a sharp decline in its market cap, which moved from $70 billion in January to $19 billion today. So, why did this advertising giant crash?

Why The Trade Desk stock crashed

The Trade Desk is a to company in the advertising industry, where it provides a programmatic media-buying platform, enabling advertisers, agencies, and brands to purchase and manage ad campaigns. These entities can use its platform to buy ads across media entities like streaming TV, online video, and radio.

The Trade Desk’s business has been doing well, helped by the rising demand for its solutions. Data shows that its annual revenue jumped to over $2.4 billion in 2024 from $1.945 billion a year earlier. Its revenue has been growing, with the revenue moving from $114 million a decade ago.

Most importantly, the company has been highly profitable in the past few years. Its net income rose to $221 million in the third quarter from $200 million in the same period last year. 

Therefore, the Trade Desk stock price crashed as investors remained concerned about its revenue growth. Indeed, it made two major down gaps after publishing its earnings this year. For example, TTD dropped from $121 to $85 in a single day in February when it released its results. 

The stock then jumped from $59.6 to a high of $75 after releasing its earnings in May. Finally, it plunged from $88 to $56 in a single day after releasing the earnings. 

TTD stock also suffered a harsh reversal as investors booked profits, as it was one of the top gainers in the S&P 500 Index in the previous year. Also, it came under short-seller attack as the short interest soared to 10%.

READ MORE: Trade Desk has fallen steeply after S&P 500 inclusion: what should you do with the stock?

Is TTD a good stock to buy?

Wall Street analysts are highly bullish on the Trade Desk stock, with the average target being $61, higher than the current $38.33. Some potential catalysts may trigger a rebound in the coming year.

First, analysts are upbeat about the company’s earnings growth in the coming year. The average estimate is that the revenue will jump to $840 million from the $741 million in the same period last year. This revenue will bring the annual revenue to $2.90 billion, up by 18% from 2024.

The Trade Desk is expected to make $3.335 billion, up by 16% year-on-year. Its earnings-per-share is expected to move from $1.78 this year to $2.08 in the coming year.

Second, there are signs that the company has become a bargain, with its forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio coming in at 21, much lower than the five-year average of 69%. The rule-of-40 metrics show that the company is nearing the key level at 40.

The Trade Desk share price analysis

TTD stock chart | Source: TradingView

The weekly chart shows that the TTD stock price has crashed from the year-to-date high of $141 to the current $38.31. It recently moved below the important support level at $38.7, its lowest point in July 2022.

The stock has plunged below the 50-week and 100-week Exponential Moving Averages (EMA). On the positive side, it has formed a giant double-bottom pattern whose neckline is at $141.

Therefore, a contrarian case for the stock can be made. If this happens, the stock will likely rebound and hit the psychological point at $50 as investors buy the dip.

READ MORE: Crashing Trade Desk stock is at risk as a death cross nears

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The Nasdaq 100 Index and the QQQ ETF had a strong performance in 2025 as the artificial intelligence boom entered its third year. The two assets jumped by over 20%, adding trillions of dollars in value. 

Most companies in the index and its ETFs were in the green, with companies like Western Digital, Micron, Seagate, Warner Bros, Palantir, Lam Research, and AppLovin being the top gainers. This article explores some of the top laggards in the index this year.

Strategy (MSTR) was the worst performer in the Nasdaq 100 Index

Michael Saylor’s MSTR was the top laggard this year as it crashed by almost 50%. This decline happened as the Bitcoin price dropped from the year-to-date high of $126,250 to the current $90,000. 

Strategy also plunged as demand for companies in the Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) industry tumbled. Indeed, other companies like BitMine, MARA, Metaplanet, and Semler Scientific continued plunging.

Strategy’s market net-asset value (mNAV) has dropped below 1 as the premium ended. At the same time, the company continued diluting its shareholders as it raised billions of dollars to buy more coins. 

The stock also formed a death cross pattern, and technicals point to more downside in the near term.

Charter Communications’ stock dropped amid cord-cutting

Charter Communications was the second-worst-performing company in the Nasdaq 100 and QQQ ETF during the year. Its stock dropped by over 40% this year and by over 57% from its highest point this year.

Charter stock price has plunged as the company’s revenue and profitability growth slowed and as its capital expenditure soared. The most recent results showed that its revenue dropped by 0.9% to $13.7 billion, while the adjusted EBITDA fell by 1.5% to $5.6 billion. Also, the capital expenditure rose by 19% to $3.1 billion.

Charter, like other companies in the industry, have come under pressure in the past few years as customers have cut their cords and moved to streaming solutions. 

Atlassian stock dropped as insiders sold

Meanwhile, the TEAM stock price crashed by 33% this year and was the third-worst performing company in the Nasdaq 100 Index. Atlassian, which is the parent company of Jira, Confluence, Trello, and Loom, has plunged by nearly 50% from the year-to-date high and by 66% from the all-time high.

The company has also plunged as its management has continued dumping its stock over time, a sign that they expect the weakness to continue. Also, Atlassian has continued to face substantial competition from other companies like Microsoft, Asana, and Monday.com.

PayPal stock plunged as growth stalled

PayPal stock price dropped by 30% this year, bringing the five-year returns to minus 75%. It has plunged in the past few years as its growth slowed and woes in its Honey division continued.

PayPal’s business has continued to slow as competition in its business has accelerated. For example, its unbranded business is seeing robust competition from the likes of BNPL firms like Affirm and Klarna. 

At the same time, there are claims that Honey, its business, has been taking advantage of customers and its advertising clients. The allegations have also attracted lawsuits that may hurt its business. 

There were other top laggards in the Nasdaq 100 Index, including Kraft Heinz, Marvell Technology, Comcast, Adobe, and Verisk Analytics. All these stocks plunged by over 20% this year. Other top laggards in the index are firms like Paychex, Thomson Reuters, Workday, and Fortinet.

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Cardano price has crashed by nearly 60% this year, lagging behind other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. It crashed to a low of $0.3512 on Tuesday, down sharply from the year-to-date high of $1.3245. This article explores some of the top reasons why the ADA price crashed in 2024 and potential catalysts to watch.

Reasons why Cardano price crashed in 2025

There are a few reasons why the Cardano price crashed this year. First, the decline coincided with the ongoing crypto market crash that affected Bitcoin and other altcoins.

Bitcoin dropped by 6.5% this year, while Ethereum plunged by 11% during the year. Additionally, the market capitalization of all tokens dropped by 8.10% this year. This explains why Cardano token plunged as the industry has a close correlation with each other.

Second, ADA price dropped as concerns about its ecosystem continued. Data compiled by DeFi Llama shows that the total value locked (TVL) in its network dropped to below $250 million, making it much smaller than other popular networks like Monad and Katana.

More data shows that Cardano does not have a market share in the fast-growing real-world asset (RWA) tokenization industry that has accumulated nearly $20 billion in assets. As a result, concerns that Cardano is a ghost chain remained for the most part of the year.

Third, Cardano declined as it was passed over by most institutional investors who filed an application for altcoin ETFs. Only Grayscale filed for a spot ADA ETF, with other top companies like 21Shares, BlackRock, Canary, and VanEck remaining on the sidelines.

Additionally, the token crashed this year after the huge liquidation event that happened on October 10, as nearly 2 million traders were liquidated. As a result, most Cardano investors have deleveraged, with the futures open interest falling from over $1.95 billion in September to the current $646 million today.

Cardano price also plunged as the enthusiasm that Charles Hoskinson built earlier this year faded. For example, he predicted that Cardano would attract Chainlink as a partner, which did not happen. 

His hints on integrating Bitcoin DeFi in Cardano did not work out. Most importantly, his meeting with a top ‘VIP’ did not amount to any deal.

Key catalysts for ADA price in 2026

There are a few potential catalysts for the Cardano price in the coming year. First, Cardano will launch the Midnight mainnet in the first quarter, a move that will boost its utility. Already, the recently launched NIGHT token launch was highly successful as the token’s market cap has remained above the $1.3 billion.

Midnight is important as it will be the biggest privacy network in the crypto industry, with a focus on the zero-knowledge proof technology.

The other main catalyst for Cardano will be the launch of the Leios upgrade, which will make Cardano one of the fastest-growing chains in the crypto industry. It will achieve this speed by introducing the concept of parallel block processing.

Additionally, there are chances that Cardano’s price will do well as investors react to Grayscale’s launch of the first ADA ETF during the year.

ADA price technical analysis 

The weekly chart shows that the ADA price dropped from a high of $1.3245 in November last year to the current $0.3517.

It has moved below the important support level at $0.5142, its lowest level in January, April, and June, confirming a bearish breakdown.

The coin has remained below the 50-week Exponential Moving Average (EMA), confirming the bearish breakdown. It is also approaching its key support level at $0.3056, its lowest level in August last year.

Therefore, the most likely scenario is where Cardano continues falling, with the next key support level to watch being at $0.2212, its lowest level in December 2022 and June 2023.

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The Next share price had a great performance in 2025 as its growth trajectory continued. NXT rose by 44% this year, beating the FTSE 100 Index, which jumped by ~20%. This article explains why the retailer soared and what to expect in the coming year.

Next share price jumped as growth accelerated

Next PLC is a top British company offering fashion and home items through its retail stores and e-commerce platforms. Its business has accelerated even as other companies like Asos and Boohoo have struggled in the past few years. 

The stock jumped after the company released its half-year results and its trade statement recently. Next’s sales rose by 10.3% in the first half of the year to over £3.24 billion.

Most importantly, its cost discipline helped its profits to grow faster than its revenues. Its profit before taxes rose by 13.8% to £515 million, while its profit after tax jumped by 13.4% to £387 million. 

The company’s growth trajectory was driven by its international business, which continued beating the domestic segment. Its international revenue rose by 28% in the year’s first half, much higher than the UK’s 8%.

The picture was much better in the third quarter as UK sales rose by 5.4%, while overseas sales rose by 38%.

The management has continued to invest its marketing budget to capture more clients from overseas. These investments are paying off as the sales trajectory has accelerated. Also, the international business is closing the gap with its British segment.

Next PLC share price jumped as the company boosted its forward guidance. It now expects that its fourth-quarter revenue growth will be between 4.5% to 7%, with its full-year profit guidance being £1.13 billion, up by £30 million from the previous estimate. 

Next’s stock also jumped as the company continued rewarding its shareholders. It is doing that by repurchasing its stock. It bought shares worth over £131 million this year and has over £500 million available to distribute. 

However, the company has paused its share repurchases because the stock has moved much higher than the buying limit of £121. Next’s repurchases have helped to reduce its common outstanding shares to 116.6 million from the 2021 high of 127 million.

Still, a key issue with Next is that it has become relatively overvalued, with its forward P/E ratio of 18 being higher than its historical average. 

Next PLC stock price technical analysis

The daily chart shows that the Next stock price jumped from a low of 8,848p in January this year to a high of 14,550p in November. It formed an up-gap on October 28, which it has now filled.

The stock has formed a bullish flag pattern, one of the most common continuation signs in technical analysis. This pattern is made up of a vertical line and a descending channel. 

Therefore, there is a likelihood that the Next share price will have a bullish breakout, potentially to the year-to-date high of 14,550p. A move above that level will point to more gains, potentially to 15,000p in 2026.

READ MORE: Next PLC share price sits at its all-time high: it’s still a bargain

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The CAC 40 Index rose by ~12% this year and by nearly 20% from its lowest level in April when Donald Trump unveiled his reciprocal tariffs. This rebound coincided with that of other global indices, which are ending the year in the green. This article explores some of the top gainers and laggards in the CAC Index.

Société Générale was the top CAC 40 Index

Société Générale, a top French bank, was the best-performing company in the CAC 40 Index this year as it jumped by 152%, bringing its market capitalization to nearly $50 billion. 

The surge coincided with the strong performance of the European banking industry. In France alone, banks like BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole jumped by double digits this year.

The most recent results showed that Societe Generale’s business did well this year, helped by its revenue growth and cost cuts. Its nine-month revenue rose to €20.5 billion, with its third-quarter figure coming in at €6.7 billion. 

The company’s costs declined by 1.1% in the third quarter, as disposals made it more profitable. Indeed, the Return on Tangible Equity (ROTE) rose to 10.7%, higher than the previous guidance of 9%.

Still, the challenge is whether the company’s business will continue doing well now that interest rates are coming down. 

ArcelorMittal stock soared despite challenges

ArcelorMittal, one of the biggest companies in the steel industry, was the second-best performer in the CAC 40 Index. It jumped by 75% this year, pushing its market cap to over $32 billion. 

The rally was mostly because of the rising demand for steel, which was offset by the elevated costs. The most recent results showed that its revenue was $15.65 billion in the third quarter, up from the $15.19 billion it made last year. 

However, its EBITDA dropped to $1.50 billion from the $1.58 billion it made in Q3’25. The stock also did well as the number of outstanding shares dropped from 778 million to 761 million. 

Thales stock jumped amid rising defense spending

Thales, a large defense contractor, was the third-best performing company in the CAC 40 Index this year. It jumped by 65%, with its valuation soaring to $61 billion. This growth mirrored the performance of other defense contractors like Rheinmetall and BAE Systems. 

The most recent results revealed that sales rose by 8.1% in the year’s first half to over €10.26 billion. Its adjusted EBIT rose by 13% to €1.248 billion, while the cash flow rose to €499 million. 

Thales will likely continue doing well as European defense spending accelerates. The company also plans to continue turning its loss-making space business.

Orange stock jumped amid resilient growth

Orange, the giant telecoms company, was another top gainer in the CAC 40 Index. It was trading at €14.11 on Monday, up substantially from the year-to-date low of €8.9. 

Orange’s business continued growing as the company added more customers in key markets in France, Europe, and Africa. Its new customers rose by 8.2 million in the third quarter, bringing the total figure to 300 million.

Orange’s Africa and Middle East business experienced a 12.2% revenue growth in the third quarter, while Europe grew by 8.2%.

The other top gainers in the CAC 40 Index were ENGIE, Safran, BNB Paribas, Legrand, and Credit Agricole. Kering, the embattled luxury group, rose by 26% this year, beating other companies like LVMH and Hermes.

On the other hand, the top laggards were firms like Edenred, Pernod Ricard, Dassault Systèmes, Stellantis, Renault, TP, and Publicis. 

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Ocado share price had another difficult performance this year as woes in its business escalated. OCDO was trading at 240p on Tuesday, down by 20% from where it started the year. It has dropped by 40% from the year-to-date high.

Ocado ends its exclusivity terms

The biggest Ocado news this year came from the United States, where Kroger, its biggest customer, announced that it would close some of its warehouses, an admission that its automated warehouses were not generating the desired return on investment. 

Kroger, a major supermarket chain, has instead pivoted its business to using third-party companies like Instacart, DoorDash, and Uber Eats. By scaling down its partnership, the company announced that it would pay Ocado millions of dollars.

Ocado stock price retreated after the company announced that it ended its exclusivity arrangements to supply its automation solutions to clients. Ending this exclusivity means that the company will now be free to ink deals with other retailers globally.

The company hopes that ending the exclusivity will help it boost its business in the coming years. It even expects that its business will continue to attract more customers from the United States, where it still counts Kroger as its biggest client.

Ocado has had problems with other clients before. For example, Sobeys, its large partner in Canada, ended its planned warehouse launch in Vancouver, leading the two to end their exclusivity deals. However, Ocado is yet to ink more deals in Canada after the end of that exclusivity.

READ MORE: Ocado shares jump after Kroger agrees $350M payment for warehouse closures

Ocado’s main challenge is to convince retailers that its highly expensive technology is worth the investment, as cheaper alternatives have come up. Today, many retailers are opting to use third-party companies like Instacart and Uber Eats for their delivery services. 

Additionally, many large retailers have already come up with their e-commerce strategies after the pandemic boom.

At the same time, the company continues to make substantial losses, with a path to profitability being blurry. The most recent results showed that the company’s revenue rose by 13% in the first half of the year to £674 million.

Its technology solutions revenue rose by 15%, while its logistics jumped by 12%, while the group adjusted EBITDA rose to over £92 million. 

The company’s retail business did well, with the revenue rising by 16% to £1.52 billion, and its EBITDA improving to £33 million. The management expects that it will turn cash flow positive in the next financial year. It is unclear how the Kroger issue will impact its operations and profitability.

Ocado share price technical analysis 

The daily timeframe chart shows that the OCDO stock price bottomed at 165.55p in November and then bounced back to a high of 252.8p.

On the positive side, it has formed an inverse head and shoulders pattern whose neckline is at 252.8p. An inverse H&S pattern is one of the most popular bullish reversal signs in technical analysis.

The stock has moved above the 50-day and 100-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMA)and is now at the 38.2% Fibonacci Retracement level.

Therefore, despite its challenges, the stock will likely continue rising in the coming weeks, potentially to the psychological level at 300p. A move above that level will point to more gains to the 61.8% retracement level at 308p.

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The Nikkei 225 Index did well this year, rising from a low of ¥31,145 in April to a record high of ¥52,590. It rose by nearly 30% this year, outperforming most global indices like the S&P 500, FTSE 100, and the German DAX. 

Why the Nikkei 225 Index soared

The Nikkei 225 Index surged this year, even as the Bank of Japan maintained its hawkish tone and Japan bond yields soared to the highest level in decades. Data shows that the ten-year bond yield jumped to a multi-year high of 2.10%, while the five-year soared to 1.54%.

The index jumped because of the ongoing artificial intelligence boom, which benefited some of the biggest players in the industry, like Advantest and Softbank.

Additionally, it jumped because of the falling Japanese yen, which continued its freefall during the year. The USD/JPY exchange rate rose from a low of 139.87 in April to a high of 157.83.

A weaker Japanese yen benefits the Nikkei 225 Index by helping its biggest exporters, including automakers like Toyota, Mazda, and Honda. Other large industrial companies like Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric also benefited.

Meanwhile, like other indices, the Nikkei Index jumped after Donald Trump signed a trade agreement with Japan, which reduced tariffs for goods from the country. This deal brought the levies to 15%, down from over 30%, with Japan promising to invest billions of dollars in the United States.

Top gainers and laggards in 2025

Most companies in the Nikkei 225 Index did well this year. Sumitomo Dainippon, a giant player in the pharmaceutical industry, soared by 311% this year, bringing its market capitalization to over $4.35 billion. This surge happened as the company made progress on its pipeline and as the turnaround gained steam.

Mitsui Mining & Smelting stock price jumped by 286% this year, with its valuation hitting over $7 billion. This surge happened as commodity prices continued soaring, with gold, silver, and copper gaining momentum. The jump benefited this company as it provides engineered materials used in the mining industry.

Fujikura share price soared by 173%, with its valuation jumping to $36 billion as demand for its technology products rose. Advantest, a top player in the semiconductor industry, rose by 116%, while Sumitomo Electric rose by 123%.

Japanese bank stocks also did well as the Bank of Japan (BoJ) hiked interest rates during the year. Shizuoka Bank stock rose by 90%, while Concordia Financial, Mizuho, Chiba Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial jumped by double digits during the year.

Meanwhile, Softbank’s stock price jumped by 90% this year. Recently, however, the stock has dropped by over 35% this year as concerns about the AI bubble have remained.

On the other hand, the top laggards in the Nikkei 225 Index in 2025 were companies like Itochu, KDDI, Bridgestone, Daiichi Sankyo, and Recruit Holdings, which dropped by over 20%.

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The South African rand was one of the best-performing currencies this year as it jumped by over 11% against the US dollar. The USD/ZAR exchange rate was trading at 16.68, down by 16.4% from its highest point this year. It has also formed a risky technical pattern pointing to more rand gains.

USD/ZAR technical analysis suggests more downside

The weekly chart shows that the USD to ZAR exchange rate has been in a strong bearish trend in the past few months. It has formed a double-top pattern at 19.91 and a neckline at 17.02, its lowest level in September last year.

The pair is also about to form a death cross pattern, which happens when the 50-week and 200-week Exponential Moving Averages (EMA) cross each other. The spread between the two indicators has continued to narrow in the past few weeks.

Historically, a death cross and a double-top pattern points to more downside over time. It has also moved below the Supertrend indicator, one of the riskiest formations.

The pair has moved to the 50% Fibonacci Retracement level. Therefore, the most likely scenario is where the USD/ZAR forecast continues falling as sellers target the next key support at 15.85, the 61.8% Fibonacci Retracement level.

Why the South African rand surged in 2025

There are a few reasons why the USD/ZAR pair has crashed in the past few months. First, the decline is mostly because of the ongoing US Dollar Index (DXY), which has dropped from the year-to-date high of $110 to $100 today. A closer look shows that the currency has dropped against other currencies again, like sterling and the euro.

Second, the South African rand jumped because of the ongoing commodity prices in the past few months. Gold, a top South African export, surged to a record high, and analysts at Goldman Sachs, believe that it has more upside this year. South Africa is expected to produce about 100 tons of gold this year, with exports expected to be worth over $8.5 billion.

Third, the currency surged because of the relatively stable economy despite the conflict with Donald Trump. The most recent data showed that the headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 3.5% in November, inside the Reserve Bank of South Africa (SARB) range of between 3% and 6%. SARB recently adjusted the inflation target to 3%, which led to more demand for South African assets, with foreign investors buying bonds with over $7.6 billion.

These numbers helped the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) to deliver four interest rate cuts worth about 100 basis points, and analysts expect the data to show that the bank will cut more in January 2026.

Meanwhile, Eskom, the giant utility company, managed to keep lights on for the most part of the year, ending the rotational blackouts known as load shedding. Other major companies in the rail and port sector also did well during the year. 

And most recently, the government hinted that if will not extend more bailouts to these companies, a move that led to a higher credit rating.

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The Russell 2000 Index and the IWM ETFs jumped by 13% this year as global stocks continued their uptrend. It has now risen by over 25% in the last five years, underperforming other blue-chip indices like the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100. This article explores some of the top gainers in the Russell Index this year.

The Oncology Institute was the top gainer in the Russell 2000 Index

The Oncology Institute, a company serving nearly 2 million cancer patients, was the best-performing company in the Russell 2000 Index this year as it jumped by over 1,090%. It rose to a high of $4.85, up by over 2,100% from the year-to-date low.

The company benefited from the rising revenue growth. It estimates that its annual revenue will jump to $500 million this year from $393 million last year. Most of this revenue came from the specialty pharmacy business, followed by fee for services and capitation. 

The Oncology Institute will likely continue doing well as cancer cases in the United States continue growing over time.

The other top gainers in the Russell 2000 Index were companies in the biotechnology industry like Palvella Therapeutics, Cidara Therapeutics, Terns Pharmaceuticals, Nutex Health, and Zenas BioPharma. All these stocks jumped by over 370% this year as they made progress in their research.

Planet Labs (PL)

Planet Labs was the second-best-performing company in the Russell 2000 Index and the IWM ETF which is not in the biotechnology industry. Its stock jumped to a high of $20.90 this year, up by 1,098% from the all-time low.

The company, which is in the satellite imagery industry, surged after the management announced strong earnings and guidance. Its most recent numbers showed that its fourth-quarter revenue will be between $76 million and $80 million, higher than the previous guidance of $73.5 million. 

The company also expects that its annual revenue will be between $297 million and $301 million, higher than what analysts were expecting. This growth happened as the company pivoted to government contracts, with its commercial business remaining under pressure.

EcoStar Corporation stock jumps ahead of SpaceX IPO

The other notable gainer was EchoStar, whose stock jumped by 356% this year. This growth happened as the company continued its partnership with SpaceX. Just recently, the company reached a $2.6 billion deal with SpaceX. Under that deal, the firm will receive $2.6 billion in fees for more spectrum from SpaceX.

The company has reached spectrum deals worth over $40 billion with companies like AT&T and SpaceX. Also, analysts expect its deals will accelerate after SpaceX goes public.

ThredUp (UP)

ThredUp, a company offering a platform to second-hand clothes, is another top gainer in the Russell 2000 Index as it jumped by 332% this year. Its growth accelerated as the company continued seeing more demand amid the ongoing inflationary environment.

The stock also jumped as investors saw it as a good turnaround story and the fact that it has established itself as a good asset-light resale infrastructure play. However, its surge has also attracted short-sellers, with its short interest rising to 15%, a sign that some investors anticipate it to retreat soon.

The other top gainers in the Russell 2000 Index were companies like Hecla Mining, Bloom Energy, ViaSat, Better Home & Finance, US Gold, Oklo, and SSR Mining.

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The Dow Jones Index continued its recent rally, rising by 15% this year and hitting its all-time high of $48,862. It has jumped by ~35% from its highest level in April this year. This article explores the top US30 Index news to watch in 2026.

Dow Jones Index to react to key earnings 

The Dow Jones Index will react to corporate earnings from its constituent companies in the index. Analysts are highly optimistic that American companies will continue doing well as they did this year amid the tariff uncertainty.

Data compiled by FactSet shows that the S&P 500 Index companies experienced double-digit earnings growth in all quarters of the year.

Most of the earnings growth was driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom that continued for the third year. A good example of this is Nvidia, the biggest company in the world, whose revenue jumped to over $57 billion in the third quarter.

Other companies in the Dow Jones, like Walmart, Goldman Sachs, and Boeing continued to publish strong financial results during the year. 

The strong earnings explain the surge in the index’s top gainers like Caterpillar, Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, Nvidia, IBM, and JPMorgan. For example, the most recent results showed that Goldman Sachs earnings jumped, helped by the trading boom and the return of investment banking.

Therefore, the Dow Jones Index will react to earnings as they will provide more color on growth, and most importantly, the AI boom.

Federal Reserve news

The other important news that will impact the Dow Jones and other US indices are the Federal Reserve. One of the Fed news items will be the appointment of the next chairman by Donald Trump and the vetting process.

Trump has interviewed several potential officials, including Kevin Hassett, Kevin Warsh, Christopher Waller, and Rick Rieder. Market participants now expect that Hassett will be nominated to replace Jerome Powell.

The potential nominee will have a major impact on the Dow Jones and other indices as Trump has vowed to appoint an official who will cut interest rates.

Still, the bank’s decisions will be determined by the whole FOMC committee, and there are chances that the members will push back against the chairman.

The other Fed news that will impact the Dow Jones Index are the monetary policy decisions, which will happen in January, March, April, June, July, September, November, and December. 

Most analysts believe that the bank will deliver at least three interest rate cuts in 2026, a move that may boost American stocks.

The other major Fed news will be the firing of Lisa Cook, who Trump accused of conducting mortgage fraud. A court will deliver the verdict on whether the firing was justified. If it is upheld, it means that Trump may fire more Fed officials who are not ready to cut rates.

Additionally, the index will react to the upcoming macro data, like inflation and the labor market, which will help to determine the next Fed action.

AI boom to continue?

The other important Dow Jones Index news will be on the AI boom, which has propelled American stocks to record highs this year.

Therefore, there are concerns about whether the boom will continue and whether it will burst during the year. Fears that the latter will happen explains why top stocks like Nvidia and Oracle have slumped in the past few weeks.

The upcoming earnings will help to determine whether the boom in the AI industry is accelerating. For example, a significant slowdown in earnings and forward guidance of top companies like Nvidia and Microsoft will help to determine this.

Other catalysts for the Dow Jones Index 

There will be other major catalysts for the Dow Jones Index this year, including geopolitics like the relationship between the US and China, and the ongoing war in Ukraine. China will deliver its decision on rare earth materials exports later during the year.

The index will also react to the US midterm election in which Democrats are expected to win by a landslide. 

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