U.S. stocks were mixed on Monday at the start of a holiday-shortened week that Wall Street is hoping kicks off a Santa Claus rally into the new year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 0.2% lower Monday afternoon, while the S&P 500 was up 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.7%.
Despite rallying Friday, all three indexes lost ground last week after the Federal Reserve scaled back its forecast for future interest rate cuts. It was the Dow’s third consecutive weekly decline and the S&P 500’s second. The Fed-fueled sell-off snapped a four-week winning streak for the Nasdaq Composite.
Eli Lilly (LLY) shares advanced after federal regulators approved its Zepbound weight-loss drug Zepbound to treat sleep apnea. Shares of Palantir (PLTR) wavered on the defense contractor’s first day as a component of the Nasdaq 100. MicroStrategy (MSTR), another new addition to the index, fell.
Big Tech stocks were mixed Monday with Tesla (TSLA) and Nvidia (NVDA) each up nearly 3%, while Meta (META), Alphabet (GOOG)(GOOGL), and Amazon (AMZN) posted smaller gains. Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) were marginally lower.
The economic and corporate calendars are light this week. Data released Monday morning showed consumer confidence surprisingly pulled back in December, while new home sales fell short of expectations in November. The stock market will close at 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday and remain closed Wednesday. Regular trading resumes on Thursday morning.
Treasury yields continued to tick up on Monday after surging last week after the Fed’s interest rate forecast. The 10-year Treasury yield was at 4.58%, its highest level since May, on Monday morning.
Bitcoin traded around $93,000 after slumping below the $100,000 mark last week. The dollar, trading at its highest level since 2022, advanced against most major currencies. Gold and oil futures fell.
Xerox Stock Soars on $1.5B Acquisition of Printer Maker Lexmark
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Xerox Holdings (XRX) shares jumped nearly 7% intraday trading Monday after the office products maker announced that it was buying privately held Lexmark International from its Chinese owners for $1.5 billion to address the increased number of workers with flexible schedules. The company also slashed its dividend in half to help pay the costs.
The company said the deal would “strengthen the Xerox core print portfolio and build a broader global print and managed print services business better suited to meet the evolving needs of clients in the hybrid workplace.”
Xerox added that the purchase will also assist the company in serving clients in the growing A4 color market, as well as boost its reach in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025.
Despite today’s gains, shares of Xerox Holdings are down 50% this year.
Eli Lilly Rises on FDA Approval of Weight-Loss Drug Zepbound for Sleep Apnea
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Eli Lilly’s (LLY) Zepbound has received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval as a treatment for obstructive sleep apnea for adults with obesity, the drugmaker announced late Friday.
The approval comes after several trials earlier this year that showed the tirzepatide-based drug is five times more effective than a placebo at reducing breathing disruptions caused by obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and in 50% of cases, completely preventing them.
“Nearly half of clinical trial patients saw such improvements that they no longer had symptoms associated with OSA, marking a critical step forward in reducing the burden of this disease and its interconnected health challenges,” Jonsson said.
Zepbound got FDA approval to treat obesity and weight loss in November 2023, joining Eli Lilly’s other tirzepatide-based drug, Mounjaro. The two drugs, along with Novo Nordisk’s (NVO) Ozempic and Wegovy, have captured the majority of a surging weight-loss market that has grown substantially in recent years.
Eli Lilly shares were up more than 2% in midday trading Monday, having gained about 34% on the year. Shares of ResMed (RMD), a medical device company that makes much of its revenue through the sale of sleep apnea masks, were 4% lower on Monday and have been negatively affected previously by the sleep apnea trials for Zepbound.
Rumble Stock Soars After Video Platform Gets $775M Investment From Tether
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Rumble (RUM) shares skyrocketed Monday morning after the video platform received a $775 million investment from Tether, operator of a cryptocurrency platform and creator of the stablecoin of the same name.
Rumble announced that Tether had purchased 103.3 million shares of Rumble for $7.50 each. It noted that the transaction would not change the status of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Chris Pavlovski as the firm’s majority stakeholder. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025.
The company said it will use $250 million of the proceeds to “support growth initiatives and the remaining proceeds to fund a self tender offer for up to 70 million of its Class A Common Stock, at the same price.”
Oppenheimer wrote in a note to clients that for Rumble, the deal “should alleviate investor concerns related to liquidity” ahead of positive free cash flow. It has a “perform” rating on the stock.
Shares of Rumble were up 80% Monday morning at $13.20, their highest level since November 2022.
Honda Stock Surges as Automaker Plans To Merge With Nissan in 2026
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Honda’s (HMC) U.S.-listed shares popped Monday morning after the Japanese automaker and Nissan announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) outlining their plans to merge in 2026.
The automakers plan to finalize the terms over the next several months and announce a definitive agreement in June 2025. A combined entity is expected to be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in August 2026, the companies said.
Honda also announced a plan to buy back up to 1.1 trillion Japanese yen ($7 billion) worth of the automaker’s own stock over the next calendar year, replacing a 100 billion yen ($636.3 million) plan announced last month.
Japanese regulators have not explicitly spoken about the Honda-Nissan deal, but Yoji Muto, head of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, said last Friday that the government “should take a favorable view when companies cooperate to strengthen their competitiveness,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
Honda’s U.S.-listed shares soared 13% in early trading Monday after entering the day down about 23% this year.
Stock Futures Mixed To Start Holiday-Shortened Week
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Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 0.5% lower in premarket trading on Monday.
S&P 500 futures were off 0.2%.
Nasdaq 100 futures were barely hanging onto gains shortly before markets opened.
