Updated 2 min read
In This Article:
US stocks stepped higher on Friday, shaking off a downbeat start to 2025 as Tesla (TSLA) and Nvidia (NVDA) led a tech-heavy comeback.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 1.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained 0.8%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led the gains with an increase of 1.8%.
Friday was the last day for the S&P 500 (^GSPC) to pull off a “Santa Claus” rally, watched closely as a historical harbinger of solid returns for January and the year.
But hopes dimmed after the benchmark fell again on Thursday to notch a five-session losing streak, the longest since April. The S&P 500 and Dow both ended the holiday-shortened week with losses of over 1%, while the Nasdaq is facing a weekly drop of 2%.
But tech stocks led Friday’s rebound, as Tesla shares rose 8% after the EV maker said its sales in China climbed to a record high in 2024. Tesla’s first yearly decline in global sales dragged the stock down 6% on Thursday. Meanwhile, Nvidia shares were up more than 4% after another sizable gain on Thursday.
US Steel (X) stock slid 5% after President Joe Biden blocked Japanese buyer Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion takeover of the company, which had become a lightning rod for political opposition.
On the data docket, the slump in US manufacturing lessened in December, according to new a fresh reading from the the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) Purchasing Managers Index. The figure of 49.3% is 0.9% higher than November’s data, but still failed to clear the 50-point threshold, which indicated a contraction.
The reading is another data glimpse into the health of US economy and will help influence the Federal Reserve’s next decision on whether to cut interest rates.
LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER 13 updates
-
Stocks finish the first week of 2025 with a loss
US stocks shook off a downbeat start to 2025 as Tesla (TSLA) and Nvidia (NVDA) led a tech-heavy comeback, rising 8% and 4%, respectively.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 1.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained 0.8%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led the gains with an increase of 1.8%.
Even with the win on Friday, the much-hoped-for “Santa Claus” rally failed to materialize.
All three major indexes finished the holiday-shortened week with losses as the S&P and the Dow shed more than 1% for the week, while the Nasdaq gave up 2%.
-
Mike Johnson reelected as House speaker after a new promise to work with Musk’s ‘DOGE’
Mike Johnson was able to keep his spot atop the US House on Friday while seeming to offer minimal binding concessions to hard-right Republicans who had threatened his path to reelection, reports Yahoo Finance’s Ben Werschkul
What Johnson did offer — in an announcement made just before the vote — was a promise to “make meaningful spending reforms to eliminate trillions in waste, fraud, and abuse, and end the weaponization of government.”
It is a new effort that Johnson says will also include the formation of a new working group of independent experts set to work directly with Elon Musk’s extra-governmental “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE).
It’s unclear what powers this new working group will have beyond publicizing its findings but the promise clearly helped put Johnson over the top as the opposition to him dwindled Friday afternoon.
-
Tesla surges as GM and Ford report 2024 sales gains
Tesla shares rose more than 7% Friday as the EV maker said its sales in China climbed to a record high in 2024. The surge followed a rough day on Thursday when Tesla’s first yearly decline in global sales dragged the stock down 6%.
Part of the drama in Tesla’s high-flying stock price is the tension between the company’s perception as a carmaker and its ambitions of becoming an AI-driven robotaxi service.
Meanwhile, legacy automakers GM and Ford reported strong fourth quarter earnings results Friday.
Ford said US sales in Q4 rose 8.8% versus a year ago, powered by F-Series sales that jumped 21.1% in the quarter.
Read more on Ford’s results here.
GM reported Q4 sales jumped 21% from a year ago and were up 4% in 2024 to 2.7 million vehicles, with full-size pickup sales hitting their highest level since 2007.
-
Rivian stock soars on better-than-expected deliveries
Rivian (RIVN) stock jumped as much as 24% Friday as the EV maker reported better-than-expected vehicle sales for its quarter ending Dec. 31.
Rivian said Friday that it delivered nearly 14,200 EVs during the fourth quarter, bringing its yearly sales volume to roughly 51,580 electric trucks — within the company’s prior guidance. Wall Street analysts had expected the company to deliver closer to 13,400 EVs for the period, and 51,000 for the year.
Even with Friday’s upswing, shares are down roughly 25% from last year. Rivian has faced a number of obstacles that have sent the stock tumbling from its all-time high above $100 following the company’s high-profile market debut in 2021.
-
Nvidia stock (NVDA) led gains among the “Magnificent Seven” stocks to start the new year after a group-wide sell-off in the last days of 2024, reports Yahoo Finance’s Laura Bratton.
Shares of the AI chipmaker were up 4% Friday after gaining roughly 3% the prior day.
That upswing followed a 4% dip between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve as megacap tech stocks dropped across the board. Tesla (TSLA) stock plunged nearly 13% over that time frame, while Amazon (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT) dropped more than 4%. Meanwhile, Meta (META) and Google (GOOG) fell just under 4%. Apple (AAPL) dropped 3%.
Even with its December decline, Nvidia shares ended 2024 up more than 150%. Analysts have remained bullish on the stock, estimating shares will rise to roughly $173 over the next year from their current level of $138, according to Yahoo Finance data.
-
Nuclear stocks rise after record government contract
Nuclear energy stocks surged on Friday following the news that Constellation Energy (CEG) signed a pair of deals for a record $1 billion to deliver nuclear power to more than a dozen federal agencies in an agreement with the US General Services Administration.
Shares of Constellation surged 4% Friday, alongside other nuclear companies. Oklo (OKLO) rose 21%; NuScale Power (SMR) rose 15%; and NANO Nuclear Energy (NNE) gained 12%.
The Constellation deal is the biggest energy purchase in the history of the GSA, which is responsible for building and managing federal buildings. It also marks a step toward the government leaning into energy agreements that derive electricity from low-carbon sources, with nuclear seen as part of the transition to renewable energy.
The broader market interest in nuclear power also comes as tech giants expand their power-intensive AI operations.
-
Stocks look to snap losing streak
US stocks stepped higher on Friday, looking to shake off a downbeat start to 2025 as Tesla (TSLA) shares looked for a comeback and the S&P 500 (^GSPC) was poised to snap a five-day losing streak.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained 0.6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led the gains with an increase of 1.3%.
Friday is the last day for the S&P 500 (^GSPC) to pull off a “Santa Claus” rally, watched closely as a historical harbinger of solid returns for January and the year. But all three indexes were set to post losses for the week.
-
Carvana extends losses for a second day after short seller report
Carvana (CVNA) shares dropped again on Friday following a short seller report claiming the online car marketplace’s turnaround is a “mirage.”
The stock fell more than 6% by 11:45 a.m ET Friday after losing nearly 2% in the prior session.
On Thursday Hindenburg Research announced a short position on the stock in a report called “A Father-Son Accounting Grift for the Ages.” The short seller alleged accounting fraud and suspicious stock sales by former CEO Ernie Garcia II. Garcia’s son, Ernest Garcia III, is Carvana’s current CEO.
In a statement a company spokesperson said the arguments in the report were “intentionally misleading and inaccurate and have already been made numerous times by other short sellers seeking to benefit from a decline in our stock price.”
The Tempe, Ariz.-based car retailer underwent massive debt restructuring and cost cutting measures after its stock was crushed in late 2022 as Wall Street worried about a potential bankruptcy.
The stock has attracted an abundance of short interest in recent years. Shares gained nearly 300% in 2024.
-
US Steel drops 6% as Biden blocks merger with Nippon Steel
The blocked $14.9 billion sale of US Steel (X) to Japan’s Nippon Steel begs the question of what comes next for the iconic Pittsburg-based steelmaker.
On Friday, shares of US Steel fell more than 6% after President Biden announced his decision to to block foreign ownership of the American company.
Union leaders, politicians and competitor Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) an original bidder for US Steel, have all weighed in on the merger since it was announced in 2023.
“It’s been a highly politicized decision the entire way through” Josh Spoores, steel analyst at CRU Group, told Yahoo Finance on Friday.
The analyst notes its unlikely Cleveland-Cliffs which has hinted it’s still interested in acquiring its competitor, would end up with the purchase.
“I think it’s possible but I don’t know that US Steel would be interested or that they have to do that. They’re in a much better position today than they were a few years ago and I think US Steel is perfectly situated to run their assets as their own operator today,” said Spoores.
However the analyst notes industry capacity will likely be reduced amid a backdrop of lagging steel prices.
“Nippon had said they would invest and wouldn’t take anything [capacity] down. But now we’re at the point where prices are down, profits are down, it’s likely that US Steel takes down a facility,” said the analyst.
-
Hopes that the start of the year will salvage a “Santa Claus” rally are dwindling.
Friday is the last day for the S&P 500 (^GSPC) to pull off the upswing, in which the stock market historically has recorded gains from the last five sessions of December through the first two trading days of January. The rally is watched as a historical harbinger of solid returns for January and the year.
Since 1950, the S&P 500 has generated an average return of 1.3% during the Santa Claus Rally period, with positive returns occurring 79% of the time, according to Adam Turnquist, chief technical Strategist for LPL Financial.
But the benchmark index is on track to lose 2% for the week.
“We believe near-term downside risk remains elevated given the recent deterioration in market breadth and momentum, stretched bullish sentiment, and macro headwinds from higher rates and a stronger dollar,” said Turnquist.
-
Stocks rise but are poised to record a loss for the week
US stocks stepped higher on Friday, looking to shake off a downbeat start to 2025 as markets waited for manufacturing data and Tesla (TSLA) shares struggled for a comeback.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was also up roughly 0.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) put on 0.6%.
Friday is the last day for the S&P 500 (^GSPC) to pull off a “Santa Claus” rally, watched closely as a historical harbinger of solid returns for January and the year.
-
Good morning. Here’s what’s happening today.
Earnings: None of note.
Economic news: ISM manufacturing, ISM prices paid (December)
Here are some of the biggest stories you may have missed:
-
JPMorgan catches an early 2025 upgrade
Eyes on JPMorgan (JPM) this morning after Wolfe Research upgrades the stock.
What analyst Steven Chubak is saying about his upgrade:
“While JPM is not a 2025 top pick, we believe shares should outperform universal broker/trust peers. When we downgraded shares alongside our second quarter 2024 preview, we believed deeper rate cuts were poised to weigh on net interest income (given JPM’s heavier short-end gearing). Since that time, rate expectations have been revised higher and we now see upside to 2026 consensus net interest income, supporting a more robust EPS growth algorithm through 2026. While absolute valuation (P/E and price to tangible book value) is still a bit frothy vs. money center peers, on our 2026 EPS we estimate that JPM trades at ~12.5x (modest premium to peers) — given the firm has consistently generated the strongest EPS growth among our bank coverage (supported by capital markets/deposit share gains), we believe a premium valuation is warranted, prompting our upgrade to out-perform.”
JPM shares are up about 1% in premarket trading.
