The Dow Jones Index has done well this year, continuing the bull run that started in 2022 when it tumbled to a low of $28,662. It was trading at $47,560, up by 30% from its lowest level in April when Donald Trump announced his reciprocal tariffs.

The Dow Jones, like the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100, has also benefited from the Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, strong earnings growth, and the artificial intelligence boom. This article explores some of the top gainers in the Dow Jones Index and its top ETF, the DIA.

Top gainers in the Dow Jones and DIA ETF this year 

Most companies in the Dow Jones Index and DIA ETF have had substantial gains this year. Only 7 of them, including top names like UnitedHealth, Salesforce, Nike, and Procter & Gamble, have dropped this year.

On the other hand, the top gainers in the Dow Jones Index were companies like Caterpillar, Goldman Sachs, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Nvidia, and Cisco were its top gainers.

Caterpillar (CAT)

Caterpillar, the giant industrial company, was the best-performing company in the Dow Jones Index this year as it jumped by 62%, bringing its market capitalization to over $278 billion.

The company has done well because of the elevated demand from America and other countries in its three verticals, like construction, resource industries, and energy and transportation.

Its most recent results showed that the company’s revenue rose from $16.1 billion in the third quarter of last year to a record $17.6 billion. This growth was offset by a decline in profitability, with its operating profit falling a bit to $3.1 billion, while its adjusted profit per share moved from $5.17 to $4.95.

Caterpillar expects that its revenue growth will continue this year but the tariff impact to affect its profitability.

Goldman Sachs Group (GS)

Goldman Sachs Group, one of the top names in Wall Street is also the second-best performing company in the Dow Jones Index this year, with its stock rising by 51% and its market capitalization hitting $262 billion.

Goldman Sachs’s business has benefited from the ongoing trading boom and the fact that corporate activities like M&A have returned. 

The most recent results showed that its revenue rose to $15.18 billion in the third quarter, while its net earnings rose to $4.1 billion. 

Most of this growth was driven by the Global Banking & Markets business, whose revenue rose by 18% to $10.2 billion, while the asset & wealth management rose by 17% to $4.4 billion. The platform solutions revenue rose by 71% to $670 million.

Goldman Sachs’ stock performance is in line with that of other global banks, including popular names like Lloyds Group and Unicredit.

IBM (IBM)

IBM stock price is the third-best-performing company in the Dow Jones Index this year, as it jumped by 40%. The company’s gains continued this week as it announced a big deal to acquire Confluent, a company that offers AI data streaming solutions. This buyout came a few months after the company closed that $6.5 billion deal to acquire HashiCorp.

IBM stock price rose after it continued to announce modest results.  Its most recent quarterly figure showed that its revenue rose by 9% to $16.3 billion, with its AI book of business rising to $9.5 billion. The company has also boosted its margins, with the gross profit margin rising by 1.1% to 57.3%.

Other top gainers in the Dow Jones Index 

The other top gainers in the Dow Jones Index this year were companies like Nvidia, Cisco Systems, 3M, JPMorgan, and American Express. All these stocks have jumped by over 21% this year  

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Crude oil prices edged lower on Wednesday ahead of the Fed interest rate decision. While the market is increasingly confident of an interest rate cut of 25 basis points, a hawkish guidance, or at least a non-committal position, is highly likely. These expectations, coupled with the overwhelming concerns of a supply glut in coming months, are fueling the selling pressure. At the time of writing, the benchmark for global oil was at a two-week low at $61.48 a barrel.

What’s fueling the crude oil price downtrend 

Crude oil price remains on a downtrend amid the overwhelming concerns over a supply glut in 2026. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the global market is expected to report a record surplus of over 4 million barrels per day in the coming year, equating to about 4% of the world’s oil consumption. While the glut may come in lower than that, analysts and investors are already pricing in a hefty oversupply.

Based on these expectations, it will be interesting to see how producers attempt to mitigate the supply glut. Intentional efforts by OPEC+ nations and non-OPEC producers like the US in 2026 may help alleviate the selling pressure. Besides, aggressive buying from China would improve the situation from the demand side.

Meanwhile, the supply/demand imbalance is already weighing on crude oil prices. Brent, the benchmark for global oil prices, is down by close to 20% ytd; placing it on track to record its worst year since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

At the same time, investors are eyeing the Russia-Ukraine talks and the Fed interest rate decision. In regard to the latter, financial markets expect the US central bank to cut interest rates by 25 basis points. Notably, this decision comes amid the policymakers’ differing opinions and gaps in the country’s crucial economic data. 

More importantly, investors and analysts alike will be keen on the Fed’s tone in the FOMC statement. A non-committal or hawkish position will likely weigh on crude oil demand while fueling a rebound in the US dollar. 

At the time of writing, the dollar index was at $99.13, having traded within a tight range for a week now. While it remains under selling pressure, it has held steady above the 6-week-long support zone of $98.60. At the same time, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yields extended previous gains to trade at a three-month high; further strengthening the US dollar. Notably, a stronger greenback renders crude oil more expensive for buyers holding foreign currencies.     

As of the Russia-Ukraine peace talks, the market is riding on hopes that the two warring countries may soon reach a deal. That would in turn ease US sanctions on Russia, releasing oil supplies from the third-largest producer and increasing the oversupply concerns.  

Brent crude oil price technical analysis

UKOIL price chart | Source: TradingView

Brent oil price edged lower on Wednesday, marking the third consecutive session in the red and reversing the gains recorded over the past two weeks. At the time of writing, it was at a two-week low of $61.48. 

A look at its daily chart hints at the continuation of the downtrend as it continues to trade below the short-term 25-day EMA and the medium-term 50-day MA. Besides, it continues to trade within the months-long bearish channel. 

In the near-term, the range between the 50-day EMA at $63.80 and the support at $61 will be worth watching. In reaction to the FOMC statement, the bears may have a chance to pull Brent oil price further down to a 7-month low at $60. On the upside, a possible rebound would likely be curbed at the crucial resistance zone of $64.50. 

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The USD/CHF exchange rate drifted downwards on Thursday morning as the US dollar index weakened after the Federal Reserve interest rate decision. It dropped to a low of 0.8, its lowest level since November 19 as investors anticipated the upcoming Swiss National Bank (SNB) interest rate decision.

SNB interest rate decision ahead 

The USD/CHF exchange rate pulled back as the SNB prepares to deliver its final interest rate decision of the year.

Economists polled by Reuters expect the bank to leave interest rates unchanged at 0% for the second consecutive meeting. Implementing another rate cut would bring interest rates to the negative zone, a move that the bank is attempting to avoid.

The SNB has maintained a highly dovish tone this year, hoping that such a move will help to devalue the franc, which it believes has become highly overvalued. As a result, it slashed rates from 1.75% in February last year to zero today.

READ MORE: Swiss franc, gold, and Bitcoin emerge as safe havens amid Trump turmoil

The bank has largely achieved its goals as inflation remains subdued, while the economy is operating at full capacity, with the unemployment rate falling to 2.9% in November this year. In contrast, the rate in the United States has risen to 4.3%.

Still, the SNB will likely have a dovish tilt in this meeting, in that officials will hint of their willingness to do whatever it takes to develop the currency. 

The bank typically prefers a weak currency as that helps its exporters by lowering the price of their products abroad. A Bloomberg analyst said:

“The hurdle to cutting rates in 2026 remains high given its limited policy space, while the price outlook is expected to slowly improve as energy prices bottom out and the effects of a strong franc fade.”

The SNB decision comes after the trade tensions between the US and Switzerland ended, with the US lowering its tariffs against the country from 39% to 15% after meeting some of the top executives. 

Federal Reserve interest rate cut and QE return 

The USD/CHF exchange rate is falling as investors reacted to the latest Federal Reserve interest rate decision on Wednesday.

The bank decided to cut interest rates to between 3.50% and 3.75%, citing concerns in the labor market, which has shown signs of deteriorating in the past few months.

A recent report by ADP showed that the economy lost over 36,000 jobs in November, the worst performance since during the pandemic.

Most importantly, officials said that they will start implementing the quantitative easing (QE) policy. QE is a process where the bank boosts liquidity in the market by buying short-term government bonds. In this case, the bank will buy short-term bonds at a rate of $40 billion a month.

USD/CHF technical analysis 

The daily timeframe chart shows that the USD/CHF exchange rate has remained in a tight range in the past few months. It has remained between the support and resistance levels at 0.7865 and 0.8150, respectively.

The pair is consolidating at the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), while the Average True Range (ATR) has slumped to the lowest level in months. Therefore, the pair will likely remain in this range unless the SNB surprises the market with a negative interest rate cut.

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Bitcoin and top altcoins suffered a harsh reversal today, Dec. 11, as concerns about the Federal Reserve forward guidance resumed. BTC dropped below $90,000, erasing some of the gains made earlier this week.

XRP price dropped by 3.6% in the last 24 hours and by 7.8% in the previous seven days. Similarly, Solana, Dogecoin, Cardano, and Chainlink prices were down by over 3% in the last 24 hours.

The closely-watched CoinMarketCap 20 Index, which is made up of the biggest coins in the crypto industry, dropped by 3%. Also, the market capitalization of all coins dropped by 2.64% to ~$3.02 trillion.

Altcoins dropped as investors sold the news

The main reason why Bitcoin and altcoins like Solana, Dogecoin, XRP, Cardano, and Chainlink are going down is the Federal Reserve interest rate decision, which happened on Wednesday.

The decision had two main catalysts for the crypto market, including the rate cut itself and the return to quantitative easing (QE) policies.

On QE, the bank will start buying short-term government bonds worth $40 billion a month, a move that will lead to more liquidity in the market.

However, the bank’s dot plot pointed to just one interest rate cut in 2026, which was lower than what analysts were expecting.

On the positive side, the dot plot will likely change next year since the composition of the Fed will change. Indeed, Donald Trump is interviewing candidates for the Fed Chair role this week, with most analysts favoring Kevin Hassett. Hassett has insisted that rates needs to go down substantially.

Bitcoin and most altcoins were up earlier this week as investors waited for the upcoming Fed rate decision. Therefore, the decline is happening as investors sell the news.

Altcoin Season Index is falling 

Top altcoins like XRP, Solana, Dogecoin, Cardano, and Chainlink are dropping today as demand for these tokens wanes.

Data compiled by CoinMarketCap shows that the Altcoin Season Index has been in a freefall in the past few months. It has dropped to the year-to-date low of 17, much lower than the year-to-date high of over 60.

The index has dropped as most altcoins have plunged, with the top laggards being DoubleZero, Story, MYX Finance, Pudgy Penguins, Celestia, Ethena, Worldcoin, and Pyth Network. All these tokens have plunged by over 62% in the last 90 days, erasing billions of dollars in value.

The performance is a sign that investors are favoring Bitcoin, while demand for altcoins has tumbled in the past few months.

Soaring liquidations continue 

Bitcoin and altcoins like Solana and Cardano are also falling as liquidations jump. Data compiled by CoinGlass shows that Bitcoin positions worth over $175 million were liquidated in the last 24 hours.

Ethereum positions worth over $170 million were liquidated, while Solana positions worth over $25 million were wiped out. Some of the other top liquidated tokens were XRP, Dogecoin, Chainlink, and Zcash.

Liquidations happen when crypto exchanges like Binance, Bybit, Hyperliquid, OKX, and Gate are forced to close leveraged positions when they move to a certain level in a bid to protect their margins.

In line with this, Bitcoin and most altcoins dropped as the futures open interest dropped by nearly 1% in the last 24 hours to $132 billion.

Looking ahead, there is a likelihood that these altcoins will rebound as the post-Federal Reserve drop was likely a knee-jerk reaction from investors. Besides, a look beneath the surface shows that altcoin ETFs have continued to accumulate assets in the past few days, with Chainlink adding $2.5 million and Solana funds adding $4.85 million.

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Scottish Mortgage share price popped this week, reaching its highest level since November 5. SMT jumped to a high of 1,140p, up by 11% from its lowest level in November and by 46% from its lowest point in November last year. 

Scottish Mortgage share price is soaring amid SpaceX IPO news

SMT is a large British fund that invests in private and publicly traded companies from around the world. Most of its portfolio companies are from the United States, with other big names being from China and Europe. 

The biggest companies in its portfolio are companies like SpaceX, TSMC, Mercadolibre, Amazon, Bytedance, Meta Platforms, Nvidia, ASML, Shopify, and Stripe. 

SMT stock price jumped this week after a report by Bloomberg said that SpaceX was planning an IPO that would see it raise over $30 billion at a valuation of about $1.5 trillion. Elon Musk responded to the report by saying that it was largely accurate.

The SpaceX IPO will be the biggest one after Saudi Aramco’s, which raised $29 billion in 2019. It will be a major win for Scottish Mortgage as the company is the biggest component of its portfolio with an 8.2% stake.

The IPO will enable SMT to realize an investment it made a few years ago when the company was valued at less than $100 billion. Most importantly, it will enable it to sell some of the shares it currently holds. 

Most importantly, there is a likelihood that SpaceX’s valuation will continue soaring after it goes public despite its pricey valuation. A good example of this is Tesla, an automaker that spots one of the biggest premiums.

Data compiled by Seeking Alpha shows that the company has a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 347 and a trailing multiple of 269. It also has a PEG ratio of 8.30, much higher than its five-year average of 4.94.

Top SMT portfolio companies are doing well

The Scottish Mortgage share price is doing well because it has stakes in key companies that are disrupting the tech world. It has large stakes in TSMC, Nvidia, and ASML, which are essential in the ongoing AI boom. 

Nvidia makes the most advanced GPUs, while TSMC manufactures chips for the biggest companies in the industry. ASML is the only company that makes the large equipment used by semiconductor companies.

Scottish Mortgage also has huge stakes in companies like Amazon, Cloudflare, and Databricks that are big names in the cloud computing industry. 

Additionally, it invested in Bytedance, a company that owns TikTok, the fastest-growing social media company in the world. Like SpaceX, analysts believe that a Bytedance IPO, if it ever happens, will be a big one as the company is now valued at over $480 billion. 

SMT share price technical analysis

The daily timeframe chart reveals that the Scottish Mortgage share price has bounced back in the past few days. It jumped from a low of 1,016p in November to the current 1,140p. 

It is about to flip the Supertrend indicator from red to green. Also, the stock has moved above all moving averages, a sign that bulls are in control for now.

Top oscillators like the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and the MACD have all pointed upwards. Therefore, the most likely scenario is where the stock continues rising as bulls target the key resistance level at 1,176p. A move above that level will invalidate the double-top pattern and point to more gains. 

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Tilray stock price has slumped in the past few weeks, moving from a high of $23.15 on October 9 to $7.20 today. This crash may accelerate in the coming weeks as a death cross pattern nears.

Tilray stock price technical analysis 

The daily timeframe chart shows that the Tilray Brands stock price has been in a strong downward trend in the past few months, erasing most of the gains made a few months ago when it moved from a split-adjusted low of $3.58 in June to $23.15.

The plot has thickened in the past few weeks as it moved below all moving averages. It is now about to form a death cross, which happens when the 50-day and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMA) cross each other. It is one of the most popular bearish patterns in technical analysis  

Tilray Brands share price has dropped below the important support level at $10.35, its lowest level on September 11.

At the same time, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and the Stochastic Oscillator have continued moving downwards and are now in their oversold level.

The Average Directional Index (ADX) has continued rising, a sign that the downtrend is gaining momentum.

Therefore, the most likely scenario is that the TLRY stock price will continue falling in the near term, barring any major announcement. If this happens, the next key support level to watch being the psychological level at $5. 

On the other hand, a move above the important resistance level at $10.35 will invalidate the bearish outlook and point to more upside, potentially to the psychological level at $15.

Tilray Brands is facing major challenges 

The ongoing Tilray stock price has mirrored the performance of the other companies in the cannabis industry.

Data shows that the popular AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (MSOS) has crashed by 40% from its highest level in August this year. Top cannabis companies like Curaleaf, Green Thumb Industries, Trulieve, and Cresco Labs have all plunged in the same period.

The main cause for the crash is that Donald Trump has remained muted on cannabis reclassification in the United States. A few months ago, he hinted that he was close to a decision, and even shared a meme promoting CBD for senior citizens.

Tilray Brands business is also facing major headwinds, especially in its beverage business, which it has invested heavily in. 

The most recent results showed that the beverage segment made $55.7 million in revenue, down from the $56 million it made in the same period last year. 

This slowdown mirrors the performance of other companies in the beer industry, which have remained under pressure in the past few years. A closer look at its performance shows that companies like Boston Beer and Molson Coors shows that most of them have plunged in the past few months.

The slowdown in the segment was offset by a 5% increase in the cannabis business, whose revenue rose by 5% to $64.5 million. Its wellness and distribution revenues rose to $15.2 million and $74 million, respectively.

Another positive is that the company improved its balance sheet by reducing its outstanding debt by $7.7 million, a move that brought the ratio of net debt to EBITDA to 0.07, while its cash balance stood at over $268 million.

Looking ahead, the performance of the Tilray stock price will depend on Donald Trump’s statement on reclassification. A supportive policy will be bullish for the stock, while continued silence will make things worse.

READ MORE: Tilray stock: why options data is skewed to downside despite solid Q1 earnings

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Costco stock price has come under pressure in the past few months, moving from a high of $1,073 in February to the current $887, a 17% drop. 

It has dropped by 10.1% in the last 12months, underperforming the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT), which has risen by 4%. Walmart stock has jumped by almost 24% this year. So, will the Costco share price rebound after earnings this week?

Costco’s business is doing well 

The main catalyst for the Costco stock price will be its earnings, which will come out on Thursday this week.

These results are expected to show the company continues to do well as consumers used its stores to find bargains amid the government shutdown and high inflation environment.

The most recent results revealed the Costco’s net sales rose to $86.15 billion in the fourth quarter, up sharply from the $79.9 billion it made in the same period last year.

The company’s annual revenue rose to $275 billion from $254 billion, making it one of the biggest retail companies in the world.

Additionally, the company continued to add more members to its stores, with the membership fees rising to $1.72 billion, up sharply from $1.512 billion in the same period last year.

Most importantly, Costco’s profits continued growing even as Donald Trump’s tariffs affected its operations. The net income rose to $2.6 billion from $2.34 billion, with the annual figure hitting $8 billion for the first time ever. 

READ MORE: 2 reasons why the Costco stock price has collapsed this year

Costco earnings are coming 

Recent releases shows that Costco’s business continued doing well. For example, a monthly report released last week showed that its total comparable sales rose by 6.9% in November, with most of this growth coming from its international business. Its digitally enabled comparable store sales rose by 16.6%.

Wall Street analysts expect that the company’s results will show that its revenue rose by 8% in the first fiscal quarter to $67.1] billion, while its guidance for the next quarter will be $68.96 billion, up by 8.22% from the same period last year.

The company’s profitability is expected to accelerate, moving to $4.28 from the $4.04 it experienced in the same period last year.

According to Yahoo Finance, the annual revenue is expected to come in at $297 billion, up by 7.92% from the last financial year.

Most importantly, Evercore analysts believe that the management will do some more measures to boost the stock. Precisely, they expect that the company will pay a special dividend and even announce a stock split. If this happens, it will be the fourth split after the ones in 1991, 1993, and 2000. Historically, stock prices normally rise after these measures are announced.

The main concern about Costco is that its stock has been highly overvalued, with its forward price-to-earnings ratio of 44.57 being higher than the sector median of 15. It is also higher than the five-year average of 42.

Costco stock price technical analysis 

The three-day timeframe chart shows that the Costco stock price has been in a strong downward trend in the past few months. This crash happened after the stock formed a double-top pattern at $1,065 and a neckline at $870. A double-top is one of the most common bearish reversal signs in technical analysis.

On the positive side, the stock has now formed a falling wedge pattern, which is made up of two descending and converging trendlines. In most cases, this pattern often leads to a strong bullish breakout, when the two lines are about to converge.

Therefore, the most likely scenario is where the stock rebounds and possibly hits the important resistance level at $1,000, which is about 12% above the current level. 

This rebound will likely happen if the company publishes strong financial results, boosts its guidance, announces a special dividend, and a stock split.

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Warner Bros stock price has been in a strong bull run this year, making it the best-performing company in the Nasdaq 100 Index. It has jumped to $27, up sharply from the year-to-date low of $7.5.

Paramount and Netflix bidding war for Warner Bros 

The ongoing WBD stock price surge happened as the bidding war for the company accelerated. After reaching a deal with Netflix on Friday, Paramount Skydance made a superior offer worth $30 per share on Monday.

Paramount believes that it has a superior offer as it also buys its legacy media business. It is also about $17 billion richer than the one made by Netflix. It also believes that the offer has a higher chance of passing the regulatory situation in the US as its business is much smaller than Netflix.

There are three main probabilities going forward. First, Netflix may decide to abandon the deal and pay the separation fee. It may also decide to boost its offer and match that of Paramount.

Second, the alternative scenario is where Paramount takes the offer directly to its shareholders, who will likely approve it as it is a better offer than the one made by Netflix.

The WBD stock price is trading below Paramount’s offer price of $30 because analysts believe that it will take 1.5 years for the deal to complete, and a lot can happen in this period. 

Is Warner Bros. Discovery worth $108 billion?

The biggest issue about this deal is on Warner Bros. Discovery valuation, which mirrors the famous $182 billion  AOL-Time Warner merger in 2000. This deal also brings back memories of the $85 billion Time Warner buyout by AT&T a few years ago.

Warner Bros. Discovery is a major media company that owns some of the best-known franchises in the United States, including its studios and HBO. It also owns some traditional toxic assets like CNN, TBS, and Turner Classic Movies.

The main reason why the company makes sense for Netflix is that it would give it one of the biggest studio networks in Hollywood. It would also give it HBO, a service with millions of users. This growth would help it expand its business and create a wide moat.

On the other hand, the deal would help Paramount to grow its business and become a more formidable competitor to Netflix. Paramount also believes that it has more synergies than Netflix.

However, a closer look at Warner Bros numbers shows that the company is not worth the $108 billion that Paramount is paying for it.

The most recent annual results show that it made over $39 billion in annual revenue in 2024, down from $41 billion in the previous year. It has made $37 billion in the trailing twelve months (TTM).

Most importantly, the company is not all that profitable. It made a net loss of over $11.3 billion last year as it wrote down the value ox its networks. The company has never made an annual net profit since its Warner and Discovery merger.

The most recent quarterly results showed that the company’s business is still not doing well to warrant a forward PE ratio of 73. For example, its revenue dropped by 6% in the last quarter, with its distribution, advertising, and content revenues dropping by 4%, 16%, and 3%, respectively. Its net loss during the quarter was $148 million.

Therefore, the most likely scenario is where the potential acquirer will ultimately write down its assets over time as we have seen with companies like Teladoc and Livongo Health, HP and Autonomy, AOL and Time Warner, and AT&T and DirecTV.

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Cardano price held steady, reaching its highest point since November 19 as the crypto market rebounded. ADA jumped to a high of $0.4647, up by 25% from its lowest point this year. It also rebounded as Cardano launched Midnight, its zero-knowledge privacy network.

Charles Hoskinson hails Cardano Midnight launch

Cardano price remained in an upbeat tone this week, mostly because of the ongoing crypto market rally. Bitcoin has jumped to over $92,000, while the market capitalization of all tokens has jumped to over $3.1 trillion.

The coin also jumped as Cardano unveiled Midnight, a privacy-focused sidechain that balances confidentiality with regulatory compliance. In a statement after the launch, Hoskinson called it the biggest event in Cardano’s history. He said:

“Midnight is the fastest-growing project we have ever built because it is much needed. People are starting to realize that privacy is not a guarantee and is not given. It is nice to have some tools to ensure privacy in the blockchain space.”