Published: Dec. 7, 2025 at 12:00 p.m. ET
December tends to be a strong month for stocks — so much so that investors have come up with the term “Santa Claus rally” to describe the gains that stocks historically see at the end of the year and into the start of the new year.
But before Santa Claus comes to town, there’s a market-moving event that could determine whether investors will get new all-time highs or coal for Christmas. That event is the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting on Dec. 9-10, where the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee will determine whether to adjust its benchmark interest rate.
