Wall Street limped into the weekend looking like a marathoner who realized the finish line had quietly moved 100 yards farther away: still standing, but with the AI high-fliers suddenly short of breath and old‑economy cyclicals enjoying a late‑season second wind.
Indexes: AI darlings catch a chill
U.S. equities finished the week ending December 12 mixed, with growth and megacap tech finally giving up some leadership just as small caps and value sectors stepped forward. The S&P 500 slipped modestly on the week as profit‑taking hit AI‑linked names closing at 6.827.41, -.63%, while the Dow managed a gain helped by financials, healthcare and select industrials closing at 48,458.05, +1.05% over the last 5-days, and the Russell 2000 pushed toward or through record territory as investors rotated into domestically focused cyclicals closing at 2,551.46, +1.19% over the last 5-days. The Nasdaq, heavy with the same AI superstars that powered 2025’s gains, spent the week on the defensive, posting a decline even as year‑to‑date returns remain well ahead of the broader market closing at 23,195.17, -1.62% over the last 5-days.
Macro and Fed: data through a shutdown fog
The economic calendar remained distorted by the recently ended record‑long federal government shutdown, leaving investors leaning more on private data and survey indicators than usual. Softer recent readings on inflation and weakening private‑sector employment data kept markets confident the Federal Reserve’s December meeting would lean dovish, with futures pricing a modest easing path rather than a dramatic cutting cycle. The Fed’s latest cut earlier in the week pulled benchmark Treasury yields lower before they edged back up on Friday, leaving the curve in a shallow U‑shape and reinforcing the sense that monetary policy has shifted from “higher for longer” to “lower, but very carefully.”
Yields, curve, tariffs and shutdown politics
Treasury yields drifted down in the middle of the curve after the Fed move, while long rates oscillated as bond investors debated how far the easing cycle can realistically go without reigniting inflation. The curve remains only modestly distorted by recent history’s standards, with shorter maturities anchored by expectations of gradual cuts and longer maturities still carrying a term premium for fiscal risk and tariff‑driven price pressures. On trade, the Trump administration spent the week fine‑tuning its tariff architecture rather than tearing it up, extending selected Chinese product exemptions even as earlier moves left headline reciprocal rates elevated and farm‑state politics prominent enough to warrant a fresh multi‑billion‑dollar aid package. In Washington, the autumn shutdown is over but not forgotten, with delayed data still working its way through the pipeline and the political class already using the episode as a pre‑campaign talking point rather than a cautionary tale. The 2-yr ended at 3.533% and the 10-yr ended at 4.184%.
Big Pharma and AI: Lilly leans in
Eli Lilly (LLY, $1,027.51, +1.70%) spent the week reminding investors that the weight‑loss gold rush is far from over, with late‑stage trial data for its next‑generation obesity candidate retatrutide showing strong efficacy and functional benefits. The news helped push Lilly shares higher on the week and kept the company near the top of the market‑cap league tables, as investors treated the update as further validation of the firm’s obesity and cardiometabolic franchise rather than a one‑off headline. An additional tailwind came from growing recognition of Lilly’s manufacturing build‑out and pipeline breadth, which keeps the stock firmly in the “expensive, but maybe not expensive enough” bucket on many desks.
Chips, platforms and AI infrastructure
In semis, the mood was less euphoric than earlier in the year but still constructive. Taiwan Semiconductor continued to benefit from its role at the center of the AI hardware build‑out, with analysts highlighting strong recent revenue growth and aggressive U.S. fab investment in Arizona to keep Nvidia’s latest GPUs flowing. Nvidia itself saw choppy price action as investors weighed stretched valuations, export‑control headlines and the broader AI de‑risking in megacap tech, yet the company remained central to the market’s long‑term AI narrative. Oracle and Broadcom helped frame the AI‑infrastructure debate from the enterprise side: Oracle traded lower after outlining heavier‑than‑expected AI capex.
Big Tech and autos: premium fatigue
Apple navigated the week with the poise of a blue‑chip that has heard every superlative before, drawing supportive analyst commentary that framed the company as an “AI toll booth” for its ecosystem even as the shares participated in the broader megacap cooling. Tesla (TSLA, .87% over the past 5-days), by contrast, traded more like a high‑beta macro proxy, with swings amplified by shifting sentiment around EV demand, competition and the impact of higher real yields on long‑duration growth stories. Meta Platforms moved largely in line with other AI‑exposed tech names, its stock giving back a slice of this year’s outsized gains as traders trimmed AI‑ad‑revenue winners ahead of the Fed and year‑end closing at $644.23, -4,33% over the last 5-days. Together, the megacap cohort illustrated an uncomfortable truth for 2025’s winners: when everyone already owns you, even good news can start to look suspiciously like a liquidity event.
Old‑economy giants and global cyclicals
McDonald’s (MCD, $316.72, +1.76% over the last 5-days) quietly did what it usually does in turbulent weeks: act as a defensive cash‑flow compounder, offering investors exposure to global consumer spending without the drama of AI valuations or EV adoption curves. Rio Tinto (RIO, $75.66, +3.56% over the last 5-days), as a bellwether of global industrial demand and the energy transition, continued to trade as a leveraged bet on metals and Chinese growth expectations rather than this week’s U.S. macro noise. Nokia (NOK, $6.27, +3.29% over the last 5-days) and Intel ($37.81, -8.69% over the last 5-days), both fighting their own long‑running strategic battles, saw their narratives pulled into the broader debate about who actually gets paid for the AI build‑out once the GPU arms race cools. Against that backdrop, smaller high‑beta names like Oklo ($87.42, -16.48% over the last 5-days), Opendoor (OPEN, $6.56, -8.25% over the last 5-days) and Palantir ($183.57, +1% over the last 5-days) remained sentiment‑sensitive, their moves more about flows into and out of speculative growth buckets than about one week’s fundamentals.
Deals, drama and the Netflix–Warner blockbuster
The week’s marquee headline in corporate activity remained Netflix’s ($95.19, -5.04% over the last 5-days) previously announced agreement to acquire Warner Bros.’ film and TV studios and the HBO/HBO Max assets from Warner Bros. Discovery, a deal that would consolidate a huge swath of premium content onto a single global streaming platform. With a price tag in the $70–80 billion range and a mix of cash, stock and significant new financing, the transaction has already become the market’s favorite case study in whether scale is salvation or hubris in streaming. Regulatory review is expected to take roughly a year or more, giving investors ample time to model synergies, fret over antitrust risk and argue about whether legacy Hollywood is finally admitting that distribution has won. You also have to factor in Paramounts hostile bid for Warner Bros. and the political movements surrounding it. Elsewhere in M&A and IPO land, activity remained steady rather than spectacular, with a mix of smaller tech, healthcare and consumer names continuing to file and price offerings on the NYSE and Nasdaq, but nothing large enough this week to challenge Netflix’s blockbuster for the front page.
Commodities and crypto: metals shine, bitcoin sulks
In commodities, gold extended its recent uptrend, trading near record territory around 4,329.80 per ounce as the Fed’s dovish tilt, a weaker dollar and persistent geopolitical worries kept demand for monetary hedges robust. Silver stole the show, holding near all‑time highs above $60 per ounce and closing at $62.085/oz. and delivering eye‑popping year‑on‑year gains that made some bitcoin holders look longingly at old‑fashioned bullion charts. Oil prices, by contrast, drifted lower toward the high‑$50s as concerns about global growth and ample supply outweighed sporadic geopolitical risk premia, leaving energy the laggard in an otherwise reflation‑flavored commodity tape closing at $57.53/bbl. Bitcoin spent the week nursing its hangover from October’s blow‑off peak above $120,000, chopping around well below that high as outflows from spot ETFs and a renewed focus on policy liquidity reminded investors that “digital gold” can occasionally behave more like “levered sentiment” and trading in the $90k range at the time of this writing.
Vista Partners Watchlist Updates
Modular Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: MODD., $.3457), a leader in innovative insulin delivery technology targeting the $3 billion adult “almost-pumpers” diabetes market with user-friendly, affordable patch pumps, today announced that it has priced an underwritten public offering (the “offering”) of 12,173,000 shares of its common stock and accompanying warrants to purchase 6,086,500 shares of its common stock. Each two shares of common stock are being offered and sold together with one accompanying warrant at a combined offering at a price of $0.77, yielding an effective price of $0.38 per share and $0.01 per warrant. The warrants will have an exercise price of $0.45 per share, are exercisable immediately upon issuance and will expire five years following the date of issuance. In connection with the offering, Modular Medical has granted the underwriter a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 15% of common shares and/or warrants at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The over-allotment option may be elected with respect to, at the underwriter’s sole discretion, shares and warrants together, solely shares, solely warrants, or any combination thereof. Newbridge Securities Corporation is acting as the sole bookrunner for the offering. Assuming no exercise of the over-allotment option, the gross proceeds to the Company from the offering are expected to be approximately $4.68 million, before deducting underwriting discounts, commissions, and estimated offering expenses payable by the Company. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund operations and for working capital and general corporate purposes, including capital expenditures.
On Nov. 17, Modular announced Institutional Review Board (“IRB”) approval to conduct an in-house study of its next-generation Pivot™ insulin delivery system using insulin on people with diabetes (the “Study”). Pursuant to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) regulations, an IRB is a group that has been formally designated to review and monitor biomedical research involving human subjects. The Study will simulate real-world conditions by delivering insulin to adult participants to gather critical data on device function and usability and obtain user feedback. Modular Medical’s Pivot tubeless patch pump aims to enhance accessibility for underserved patients with diabetes and drive market penetration and expansion.
On Nov. 14, Modular Medical announced the 510(k) premarket submission of its next generation Pivot™ tubeless patch pump to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”). The Company expects to commence the commercial launch of its Pivot pump in Q1 2026. On Nov. 3, Modular Medical the successful validation of its Pivot controller line, a critical milestone in preparing for the commercial launch of its Pivot patch pump targeted for Q1 2026. The Pivot controller line validation further demonstrates manufacturing readiness for high-volume production, positioning Modular Medical to meet the growing demand in the diabetes treatment market for advanced technology.
Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: EPRX, $6.427), a clinical-stage biotechnology company leveraging its proprietary Diffusphere™ technology to optimize local, controlled drug delivery for diseases with significant unmet need, announced (Nov. 13) the second set of 52-week follow up data from its ongoing Phase 1b/2a RESOLVE trial evaluating a single administration EP-104GI for the treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis (“EoE”). James A. Helliwell, Chief Executive Officer of Eupraxia stated,“These data further highlight the strong durability and tolerability profile of EP-104GI, reinforcing its potential to become a convenient, once-a-year treatment that fits seamlessly into routine disease management by aligning with annual patient endoscopies. The Cohorts 5 & 6 patients – the only groups to have reached 52 weeks in the trial – are demonstrating levels of symptom relief that is durable and clinically meaningful – we are very encouraged by this outcome. We’re also pleased that our previously announced 52-week data were presented as a late-breaking presentation at the American College of Gastroenterology Annual Scientific Meeting (ACG). These new results build on that momentum. Given that current EoE therapies often struggle with long-term adherence, we believe a durable, once-yearly treatment could meaningfully improve patient outcomes and establish EP-104GI as a preferred option for both physicians and their patients.”
GeoVax Labs, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOVX, $.3748), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing multi-antigen vaccines and immunotherapies for infectious diseases and cancer, On Dec. 10, GOVX announced that to help close the gap between ambition and execution, they have expanded its Scientific Advisory Board with a cluster of internationally recognized specialists whose day jobs read like the acknowledgments section of a pandemic playbook. The newly highlighted lineup features Professor Teresa Lambe, Calleva Head of Vaccine Immunology at the Oxford Vaccine Group and a principal architect of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine; Dr. Alessandro Sette of the La Jolla Institute for Immunology, a leading T‑cell and immune-correlates researcher; Professor Lance Turtle of the University of Liverpool, a clinician-scientist in viral pathogenesis and long-term immunity; Professor Thushan I. de Silva of the University of Sheffield, an authority on viral evolution and population-level vaccine responses; and Dr. Joshua A. Hill of the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, a specialist in infectious diseases and vaccine performance in immunocompromised and transplant patients. For a company that still trades like a niche microcap, the SAB now looks suspiciously like a global advisory panel on “how to keep the world from falling apart, immunologically speaking.”
On Dec. 11, GeoVax Labs today addressed reports from UK health authorities confirming the emergence of a newly evolved “recombinant” Mpox strain. Early analysis indicates the variant contains genetic elements from both Clade I and Clade II Mpox viruses, highlighting the ongoing evolution of the pathogen and the potential implications for disease severity, transmissibility, and vaccine readiness.
On Dec. 9, GeoVax announced the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 12,453,760, titled “Enhanced Therapeutic Usage of a Purine Nucleoside Phosphorylase or Nucleoside Hydrolase Prodrug”, by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The patent provides composition-of-matter and method-of-use protection for GeoVax’s Gedeptin(R) platform in combination with targeted delivery approaches for solid tumors, including head and neck cancer.
Volato Group, Inc. (NYSE American: SOAR, $1.20) and M2i Global, Inc. (MTWO, $.083), a company specializing in the development and execution of a complete global value supply chain for critical minerals, announced on Nov. 19 that Nimy Resources (“Nimy”) and M2i will collaborate with the aim of forming commercially binding contract terms for the respective sale and purchase of gallium production. They also announced (Oct. 16) the next phase of development of the digital and commercial infrastructure underpinning the U.S. Strategic Mineral Reserve (SMR). M2i initiated the SMR framework and technical specifications earlier this year. Volato is now applying its proven enterprise-software expertise to build and operationalize the secure technology backbone that will support critical mineral traceability, contracting, and compliance across the United States and allied nations. This infrastructure is being developed to serve as the market-facing layer of the U.S. Strategic Mineral Reserve initiative, providing miners, refiners, recyclers, manufacturers, and government entities with a trusted environment for physical critical mineral transactions—with verified provenance, end-to-end custody visibility, and regulatory compliance at its core.
Serina Therapeutics (NYSE American: SER, $3.12), Alabama-based biotech is betting its proprietary POZ platform and reimagined approach to apomorphine delivery may redefine the treatment paradigm for patients who have exhausted standard oral therapies. On Dec. 10, after the close,Serina announced that it has submitted a complete response to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (“FDA”) clinical hold letter for SER-252, the Company’s lead program for advanced Parkinson’s disease. As previously disclosed, the FDA placed the Company’s Investigational New Drug (“IND”) application for SER-252 on clinical hold pending additional information related to a commonly used formulation excipient. On November 25, 2025, the FDA issued a formal full clinical hold letter specifying the information required to permit initiation of the planned Phase 1b registrational study, SER-252-1b. The issues identified by the FDA do not relate to the apomorphine active drug substance, its mechanism of action, the use of the enFuse device (Enable Injections) or the broader 505(b)(2) NDA development pathway previously discussed with the Agency.
The InterGroup Corporation (NASDAQ: INTG, $29.15, +0%) reported (Nov. 17) results for the three months ended September 30, 2025. John V. Winfield, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: “We continue to observe signs of stabilization and recovery across the San Francisco hospitality market, including improving convention calendars, tourism indicators, and business travel activity. On the investment side, our marketable securities activity remained modest with a small net gain, consistent with our emphasis on liquidity and risk discipline.”
DoubleVerify Holdings Inc. (DV) closed at $10.94. DoubleVerify, which built its franchise on media verification and ad performance analytics, is now the first badged TikTok Marketing Partner focused specifically on attention measurement, tapping impression-level signals from the platform. Brands gain a granular view of how exposure and user interaction come together across TikTok formats, ad sets, creatives, and objectives, effectively treating every swipe as a tiny A/B test.
Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL, $18.24, +42.83% over the last 5-days) is a leading provider of daily data and insights about change on Earth. On Dec. 10. Planet Labs announced financial results for the period ended October 31, 2025. They confirmed that they delivered Record Revenue in Q3 of $81 Million, Up +33% YoY, increased RPOs +361% YoY to $672 Million; Backlog +216% YoY to $734 Million, & generated $114 Million of Year-to-Date Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities.
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