Top Pros' Top Picks 12/12/25

Market Minute ⏱️ 12/12/25: Stocks Hit New Highs...with a Twist!

Mike Larson | Editor-in-Chief

After hitting fresh records yesterday, equities are mixed this morning. Gold is ramping after a multi-day surge in silver, while crude oil is flattish. The dollar is up a bit along with longer-term Treasury yields.

Yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 Index (^SPX), AND the Russell 2000 Index all hit new highs. But the Dow outperformed the S&P by the widest margin in more than nine months...while the Nasdaq Composite actually dipped on the day. More investors are diversifying out of mega-cap US tech stocks amid easier monetary policy and questions about the sustainability of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) boom.

SPX, AVGO, DIS (YTD % Change)

Speaking of which, Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) stock is down despite beating sales and earnings forecasts in the fiscal fourth quarter. Investors seemed moderately disappointed in remarks from CEO Hock Tan about order volume for its AI chips. Then again, the stock WAS up 75% year-to-date heading into the report, not to mention trading at more than 40X earnings. So, it’s not shocking to see some profit-taking.

Content providers have been battling it out with AI companies for the last few years, threatening them over products like Sora from OpenAI and Gemini from Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL). Those tools allow users to produce AI-generated videos featuring intellectual property like movie characters from firms such as Walt Disney Co. (DIS).

But this week, Disney said it would buy an equity stake in OpenAI for $1 billion – and allow the company to license 200-plus Disney characters for use in Sora-generated videos. That won’t solve the fight over whether AI models can freely “scrape” content without compensation. But it could presage other deals from entertainment firms, actors’ unions, and other interested parties.

Mobius: Amid GLOBAL Market Run, Consider These Top Investing Destinations

• AI Spending: No, This is NOT the Dot-Com Bubble All Over Again
  👉️ TICKERS: AIQ, QQQ
  Does Artificial Intelligence Capex present a threat to the AI story? The market has cited three main concerns regarding it: the sheer size, the use of leverage, and the so-called circular financing. But this is not the 1990s from a Capex standpoint, writes Nancy Tengler, CIO of Laffer Tengler Investments.

• Seven Themes Investors Should Focus on in 2026
  👉️ TICKERS: DIA, QQQ, SPX, SPY
  It's worth reflecting back on the remarkable period we've just experienced. For the sixth time in seven years, the stock market has delivered double-digit returns, even though it hasn’t always felt smooth. Now, here are seven key themes likely to shape markets in 2026, observes John Gardner, founder and principal of Blackhawk Wealth Advisors’ Market Insights.

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