Softer PMIs pressured global markets

December 16, 2025 at 21:00 UTC

4 min read

Global equities decline with S&P Global flash PMIs showing easing activity and rising costs

Key Points

S&P Global (SPGI) flash PMIs showed US private-sector growth had eased while input and selling-price pressures had intensified, complicating the Fed's policy assessment.
Weaker PMI readings and Asian equity declines had weighed on regional sentiment, leaving European markets broadly softer and US breadth mixed.
Individual stock moves had been divergent, with FRMI, AFRM and CRCL leading gainers while NAVN, PBF and CORT led declines, and the energy sector had weakened.
Completed and announced transactions had been active, with several completed deals and multiple announced acquisitions across industrial battery, solar and services.

Global Market Summary

Asian equities weakened as the Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) slid 1.11% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng (HSI) fell 1.54%, weighing on regional sentiment. European markets were broadly softer with the CAC (FRA40) down 0.23%, the FTSE (UKX) down 0.68% and Germany's DAX (DAX) off 0.63% amid softer PMI readings. In the US the S&P 500 (SPX) slipped 0.10% and the Dow (DJIA) fell 0.47% while the Nasdaq (^IXIC) gained 0.37%, leaving breadth mixed.

Top Movers

FRMI (14.61%), AFRM (11.29%) and CRCL (9.68%) led individual gainers. NAVN (-13.15%), PBF (-10.96%) and CORT (-8.42%) were the largest decliners. Sector action: energy ETF XLE fell 2.83% while consumer discretionary XLY rose 0.35% and tech ETF VGT added 0.32%.

Macro highlights

S&P Global (SPGI) flash PMIs showed US private-sector growth eased in December with the composite at 53.0, services at 52.9 and manufacturing at 51.8 while input and selling-price pressures intensified; the mix of softer activity and higher costs could complicate the Fed's assessment of policy easing. Germany's flash PMIs showed a composite of 51.5 and manufacturing in contraction at 47.7, signaling weaker export demand that can weigh on German yields and the euro. France's flash PMIs pointed to near-stagnation with a composite of 50.1 and mixed sector reads, underscoring uneven euro-area momentum into year-end.

News that moved markets

Completed transactions included H.I.G. Capital's acquisition of Shore Excursions Group, Sienna's completed acquisition in Waterloo, Ontario, and Bright Scholar's completion of its going-private transaction. Announced deals included Arcfield's acquisition of Rite-Solutions, Alpine Power Systems' purchase of Chicago Industrial Battery, Freight Technologies' deal to acquire JAK Solar, Cyderes' acquisition of Lucidum, Enjoin's acquisition of Pediatric Resource Group, Vomela's acquisition of Moss, and CarbonWeb's purchase of Green Llamas.

Upcoming session watchlist

GB Inflation Rate YoY (NOV) — consensus 3.5% vs 3.6% prior, Dec 17, 07:00 AM | Signals inflation trend and near-term price pressure in the UK.
DE Ifo Business Climate (DEC) — consensus 88.5 vs 88.1 prior, Dec 17, 09:00 AM | Reflects business sentiment and near-term growth expectations for Germany.

Key Takeaways

S&P Global (SPGI) flash PMIs had shown easing US private-sector growth alongside intensified input and selling-price pressures, a mix noted as complicating the Fed's assessment.
Asian equities had weakened with the Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng sliding, and that had weighed on regional sentiment while European markets finished broadly softer.
US markets had delivered mixed results: the S&P 500 (SPX) and Dow had slipped while the Nasdaq had gained, leaving session breadth mixed across major indexes.
Sector action had been mixed: energy ETFs had fallen while consumer discretionary and tech ETFs had edged higher, reflecting divergent sector leadership.