Stocks Hover Near Record Territory as Markets Digest Post-Holiday Moves

U.S. equity indexes spent Friday trading sideways around record levels amid relatively quiet post-Christmas activity. The real action, though, came from expectations surrounding potential Federal Reserve interest rate cuts—a narrative pushing precious metals to brand new all-time highs. When traditional safe-haven assets like gold and silver rally this decisively, it typically signals growing investor anxiety about economic headwinds and flight from riskier bets. For those tracking crypto correlations, such moves often precede periods of increased volatility across alternative assets.