Despite slumping stock prices, the year ended on a strong note. Dow posts its biggest monthly loss in more than two years

Tuesday’s biggest S&P 500 gainers

1 hour 20 minutes ago

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Tesla (TSLA) stock fell 3.3%, the biggest decliner among the S&P 500 stocks. Automakers are expected to release quarterly vehicle deliveries as the new market year begins on Thursday. Analysts expect Tesla to set a record for fourth-quarter deliveries, but even if the results match high consensus expectations, the full-year total will still be below guidance. After the presidential election, the stock soared as analysts predicted how Tesla would benefit as CEO Elon Musk begins his role in the next administration, but the stock price soared this year. The stock price fell in a few trades.

Nvidia (NVDA) stock posted an impressive gain of over 170% in 2024, but the semiconductor giant’s stock was down 2.3% in the year’s final trading. Still, analysts maintain positive long-term expectations for the chipmaker, predicting strong growth driven by artificial intelligence (AI), gaming and enterprise markets.
Shares of Texas-based power generation company NRG Energy (NRG) fell 2.1%. The weakness reversed a small portion of the stock’s gains over the year, as investors evaluated the opportunity for power companies to power energy-intensive AI data centers. Despite Tuesday’s decline, NRG stock ended 2024 up nearly 75%.

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Moderna (MRNA) stock rose 5.6%, marking the S&P 500’s best daily performance in 2024 close trading. Barron’s highlights the vaccine maker’s stock as a top stock for next year, noting that the stock appears to be undervalued after falling more than 50% year-to-date. Analysts remain concerned about Moderna’s high research and development (R&D) spending, but the potential for a cytomegalovirus vaccine or personalized cancer vaccine could ultimately boost sales. . A rise in crude oil futures prices on Tuesday helped lift many oil and gas stocks on positive indicators for Chinese manufacturing. Shares of exploration and production company APA Corporation (APA) rose 3.0%, and shares of refiner Marathon Petroleum (MPC) rose 2.9%. Shares in frozen potato retailer Lamb Weston (LW) rose 2.9%. The stock has seen wild swings in the last few trading sessions of 2024, as activist investor Jana Partners has teamed up with another former company executive to push for change at the company. Lamb Weston installed a new CEO earlier this month following pressure from Yana after the company reported a quarterly loss and lowered its full-year outlook.

-Michael Blomberg

What to expect from the US stock market in 2025

1 hour 38 minutes ago

Wall Street analysts generally expect stocks to rise further in 2025 as a strong economy and lower interest rates boost corporate profits.

As more companies begin to reap the benefits of artificial intelligence, the gap between the Magnificent Seven and the rest of the market is expected to narrow.

Small- and mid-cap stocks could do well over the next year thanks to low interest rates and a relaxed regulatory environment under President-elect Donald Trump.

But some analysts say market volatility could increase after Trump returns to the White House, given the uncertainty about how his policy approach will affect the economy. I’m warning you.

Read the full article here.

-Colin Laidley

S&P 500 records best two-year performance since 1990s

2 hours 32 minutes ago

Despite underperforming in the final session of the year, the S&P 500 ended 2024 with a 23% gain. This followed a 24% rise in 2023 and was the first time since the late 1990s that the benchmark stock index had gained more than 20% for two consecutive years.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 29%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the year up 13%.

Boeing’s price level to pay attention to due to South Korea’s aircraft inspection

4 hours 25 minutes ago

Boeing (BA) stock fell more than 2% on Tuesday after falling more than 2% yesterday on news that South Korea has ordered inspections of all 737-800 aircraft following last weekend’s Jeju Air crash that killed 179 people. There was almost no change.

Boeing stock had a tumultuous year in 2024, losing about a third of its value. The company’s performance was weighed down by a series of aircraft quality problems and a prolonged strike by its machinists’ union, prompting it to raise additional capital to maintain its investment-grade credit rating and stem capital outflows.

The stock has been trending higher since emerging from a downturn on above-average volume earlier this month, suggesting a possible bullish reversal.

Investors should keep an eye on important overhead areas on Boeing’s chart near $192, $243, and $270, while also monitoring the key support level near $140. Shares were trading around $176 on Tuesday afternoon.

Read the full technical analysis here.

-Timothy Smith

Sangamo Therapeutics Tank after the end of the deal with Pfizer

5 hours 41 minutes ago

Sangamo Therapeutics (SGMO) stock lost more than half its value on Tuesday, a day after the biopharmaceutical company announced that Pfizer (PFE) was withdrawing from a co-development agreement for a hemophilia drug.

Sangamo said it would regain development and commercialization rights to the drug, known as gyroctocogene phytelparvovec, following Pfizer’s decision to “terminate the worldwide collaboration and licensing agreement between the parties.” .

Sangamo noted that in July, Pfizer reported success in a Phase 3 trial of gyloctocogene fitelparvovec, an investigational gene therapy for patients with moderate to severe hemophilia A.

CEO Sandy McRae said Sangamo was “disappointed with Pfizer’s decision,” adding that these results showed the treatment “has a significant impact on potential regulatory filings and commercialization.” He argued that this shows that he is in an advantageous position.

“We will consider all options to advance the program, including seeking potential new cooperation partners,” Sangamo said.

Sangamo Therapeutics stock has recently fallen 54%, but is still up more than 100% year-to-date. Pfizer stock traded slightly higher.

-Bill McCall

Tesla stock continues to fall ahead of 4th quarter delivery report

6 hours 47 minutes ago

Tesla (TSLA) stock fell slightly on Tuesday, heading for a fourth straight day of declines ahead of the closely watched EV maker’s delivery report.

The company is scheduled to announce fourth-quarter deliveries on Thursday, with analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha predicting a record 512,250 deliveries, but Tesla This will probably not be enough to exceed expectations. Tesla said in its third-quarter earnings report that it expects deliveries to be slightly higher than last year’s 1.81 million vehicles “despite continuing macroeconomic conditions.”

Tesla also faces questions about how the company will fare under the new Trump administration. The president-elect has promised to loosen regulations and provide federal guidelines for self-driving cars, which could be a big boost for Tesla’s robotaxi plans. However, President-elect Trump is also expected to abolish tax credits for EV purchases.

Additionally, it’s unclear how much time CEO Elon Musk will devote to the automaker after being named co-head of the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by President Trump.

Despite losing 10% of its value over the past three trading sessions, Tesla stock has benefited greatly from the outcome of the presidential election, gaining about two-thirds of its value since Election Day.

Tesla stock fell 0.4% in recent trading to about $416. The stock hit an all-time high of more than $488 two weeks ago.

-Bill McCall

Palantir’s stock price level to keep an eye on in 2025

8 hours 16 minutes ago

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) is on track to earn the title of the S&P 500’s best-performing stock this year.

The company’s stock, which was down nearly 1% this morning at $76.50, has risen 350% since the beginning of the year, helped by strong demand for its artificial intelligence (AI) analytics software products.

Since emerging from a month-long security period following the presidential election in early November, Palantir stock has continued to soar on above-average volume.

However, last week a shooting star formed on the chart. This is a candlestick pattern that occurs after the price has risen significantly, indicating that the price may start to fall or enter a consolidation phase. It’s worth pointing out that the last time a similar pattern formed on the charts in late July, the stock fell 21% in the following two weeks.

Investors should keep an eye on the key support levels on Palantir’s chart near $66, $45, and $29, as well as an upside price target near $145.

Read the full technical analysis here.

-Timothy Smith

Nasdaq sticks to monthly gains, S&P 500 and Dow fall

9 hours 32 minutes ago

Heading into the last trading day of December, the Nasdaq Composite Index is up 1.4% so far this month. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 fell 5.2% and 2.1%, respectively, their biggest monthly declines since April.

Each of the major indexes hit record highs earlier this month, boosted by optimism about the pro-growth policies expected from the incoming Trump administration. But markets have slumped in recent weeks after the Federal Reserve said it was likely to slow its rate of interest rate cuts next year because of higher-than-expected inflation.

Despite the year-end slump, the major indexes continue to rise at a solid year-over-year pace, with the Nasdaq up 30% since the beginning of 2024. The S&P 500 and Dow are up 24% and 13%, respectively.

Futures suggest higher opening prices for major stock indexes

10 hours 15 minutes ago

Futures are tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 0.2%.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.3%.

Nasdaq 100 futures also rose 0.3%.