Stocks fell sharply Friday as the Santa Clause rally that kicked off earlier in the week came to a halt.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1% in recent trading, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite tumbled 1.3% and 1.8%, respectively. The major indexes had closed near unchanged on Thursday, with the Dow inching higher to extend its winning streak to five sessions.
Despite the sluggish performance for stocks since the Christmas break, the major indexes are clinging to gains for the week. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all fell last week, the first time in five weeks all three had lost ground, as the market hit the brakes on a huge post-election surge.
Mega-cap technology stocks were down across the board on Friday, led by a 4.5% decline for EV maker Tesla (TSLA). Shares of AI investor favorite Nvidia (NVDA) fell nearly 3%, while Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META) and Broadcom (AVGO) also lost ground. Apple entered the session on the verge of becoming the first company to ever have a market capitalization of more than $4 trillion.
The yield on 10 year Treasurys, which is correlated with expectations about where interest rates are headed, was at 4.61% in recent trading, up from 4.58% yesterday and near its highest levels since May.
Bitcoin was at $94,300, down from an overnight high of around $97,300. Gold futures were down 0.7% at $2,635 an ounce, while crude oil futures rose more than 1%.
Lamb Weston Shares Rise as Activist Jana Pushes for Change
1 hr 30 min ago
Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings (LW) rose Friday after activist investor Jana Partners added another former company executive to its lineup of board candidates as it seeks to shake up the frozen potato maker.
In a regulatory filing, Jana showed that Jeffery DeLapp had 458 voting shares. DeLapp had been president of Lamb Weston, as well as rival potato provider McCain Foods USA.
Former Lamb Weston Executive Chair Timothy McLevish had already aligned with Jana, which now has six food-industry executives who could challenge for a position on the board. Jana took a more-than-5% stake in the company in October.
Shares of Lamb Weston were recently up about 4%. Even with today’s advance, Lamb Weston shares have lost more than a third of their value this year.
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Jana last week blasted the company after Lamb Weston reported an unexpected quarterly loss and cut its guidance. The company cited softening demand for frozen potatoes, which it sees continuing into 2026. Lamb Weston also said CEO Tom Werner would be replaced on Jan. 3 by COO Michael J. Smith.
In a statement, Jana called the results “disastrous,” and said the decision to trade its CEO “for another long-standing Lamb Weston executive complicit in its widespread operational and strategic debacles is just the latest stick in the eye from a Board that has completely failed shareholders.”
Saying “enough is enough,” it demanded a significant board change and said if that doesn’t occur, the company should be sold.
Amedisys, UnitedHealth Extend Deadline to Complete Merge
2 hr 42 min ago
UnitedHealth Group (UNH) and Amedisys (AMED) agreed to extend the deadline to complete their $3.3 billion merger, after the U.S. Department of Justice moved to block it.
The deal was announced in June of last year and had been expected to be completed this week, but the Department of Justice and state regulators moved last month to block it, arguing it could give UnitedHealth much control in the market for home health and hospice services.
The case is currently in front of a federal judge in the District of Maryland.
In a regulatory filing Friday, Amedisys said the two firms waived their right to terminate the agreement until the 10th business day following the final order of the court, or Dec. 31, 2025, whichever comes first.
The new waiver includes a regulatory breakup fee of $275 million, which could go as high as $325 million, if the companies fail to divest certain assets by May 1.
Amedisys shares were up nearly 5% in early-afternoon trading Friday, while UnitedHealth shares were down 0.5%.
What’s Ahead for the Federal Reserve in 2025?
4 hr 1 min ago
The Federal Reserve’s plans for interest rate cuts in 2025 are up in the air as officials wait to see what policy President-elect Donald Trump will impose and what effect it has on the economy.
In particular, Trump’s plans to impose tariffs have raised eyebrows at the central bank because they could push up inflation.
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The year ahead could bring conflict between Trump and Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who has resisted Trump’s suggestion that the president should have a say in monetary policy decisions.
Read the full article here on the outlook for the Fed in the year ahead.
Major Indexes on Track to Post Weekly Gains
5 hr 32 min ago
Major U.S. stock indexes came into Friday’s session on track to post weekly gains, rebounding from last week’s downturn.
The Nasdaq Composite was up 2.3% for the week through Thursday’s close, while the S&P 500 and Dow were both up more than 1%.
The indexes fell last week, the first time in five weeks that they had done so concurrently. The Dow would break a three-week losing streak if it hangs on to gains this week, while the S&P 500 would snap a two-week losing run. The Nasdaq fell last week for the first time in five weeks.
Futures Point to Lower Open for Major Indexes
6 hr 42 min ago
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were each down 0.4% about an hour before Friday’s opening bell. The indexes, however, remain on track to post weekly gains, rebounding from last week’s downturn.
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