Stocks fell slightly during the final trading session of an eventful 2025 that saw the S&P 500 clinch a third-straight double-digit gain and the Nasdaq rise more than 20% for the third year in a row.

Nasdaq will be open for normal trading hours on New Year's Eve. The U.S. bond market will close at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday, according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and will remain closed through New Year's Day.

Experts have recommended eight stocks to buy today — L&T Finance, BPCL, Union Bank of India, BSE Ltd, Bharti Airtel, Cemindia Projects, Tourism Finance Corp. and IOL Chemicals & Pharma.

Equity benchmarks Nifty and Sensex began 2026 on a firm footing, logging gains for the second consecutive session, driven by sharp rallies in auto, bank and IT stocks, even as steep declines in major FMCG names capped the upside.