Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq slide as Treasury yields hover near 7-month highs

Updated Fri, Dec 27, 2024, 2:06 PM 1 min read

After stacking impressive gains this year, some of the biggest names in tech are losing ground as investors take profits, rebalance their portfolios, or reassess their lofty valuations. Tesla (TSLA) on Friday lost more than 4%. Nvidia (NVDA) gave up close to 3%, while Amazon (AMZN) decreased by 2.5%.

Wall Street has just three trading days remaining in a 2024 full of big gains, but markets have been unable to mount a “Santa Claus” rally into the end of the year.

Markets have largely digested the year’s remaining key economic data points, and investors are now turning their attention to two big themes for the coming year: the Federal Reserve’s path for interest rates and the implications of Donald Trump’s ascent back to the White House.

On the former, stocks have largely taken in stride the Fed’s plans to scale back rate cuts next year after an initial plunge last week. Bets have now shifted squarely to May as the next meeting at which the Fed will slash interest rates, as it continues to grapple with stubborn inflation while keeping a close eye on a cooling labor market.

And on the latter, Yahoo Finance’s Ben Werschkul writes that while Trump talked up his big plans during the campaign, especially on the economy, those plans could soon face a reality check from other key power players.

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Bitcoin’s slump continues

After topping $100,000 for the first time earlier this month, bitcoin (BTC-USD) enthusiasts were riding the momentum of aTrump victory and the sense that the regulatory environment would soon change in their favor.

But the final trading days of the year have deflated some of that excitement. The most dominant cryptocurrency was changing hands at just under $94,000 Friday afternoon. As investors took profits and pulled back, bitcoin is on track to post a negative month, coming off the all-time high of $108,00 set in mid-December.

Crypto bulls are banking on the incoming Trump administration to follow through on his campaign rhetoric as well as his industry-friendly nominations.

Trump has backed the idea of setting up a national bitcoin reserve. Although at a recent press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Fed officials are not pushing for new legislation to allow the US government to purchase the digital currency.
The AI stock trade is starting to shift beyond the ‘Magnificent 7’

Investor enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence has once again driven the “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks to another banner year, reports Yahoo Finance’s Josh Schafer.

Tesla (TSLA), Meta (META), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), and Apple (AAPL) all recently hit record highs while Nvidia (NVDA) shares boast a more than 175% gain this year.

In 2025, investors expect the hype to spread further into areas like utilities and software stocks, which will continue to benefit from Big Tech’s large AI bet. Goldman Sachs chief US equity strategist David Kostin projects the S&P 500 (^GSPC) will reach 6,500 by the end of 2025 and that the rest of the market’s gains will come closer to those of large-cap tech stocks.

The rapid earnings growth seen in large caps over the past 18 months is expected to slow, while earnings are expected to pick up for the other 493 stocks in the S&P 500.

Read more about the potential for earnings to broaden into the rest of the market here.
Dow sheds 500 points as holiday week ends with a thud

Stocks headed deeper into the red during afternoon trading Friday, as the holiday-shortened week dashed hopes for a a “Santa Claus” rally to end 2024.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) lost 1.7%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) shed 2.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gave up 1.1%. Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) hovered near seven-month highs around 4.6%.

Many of tech’s biggest names dragged down the broader marker. Tesla (TSLA) fell nearly 5%, while Nvidia (NVDA) shed 3%.
Netflix Christmas Games set NFL streaming record

An average audience of more than 24 million people tuned in to watch a pair NFL games on Netflix on Christmas day, setting a streaming record for the league according to Nielsen viewership data.

The Kansas City Chiefs versus Pittsburgh Steelers, recorded an average audience of 24.1 million, and the Baltimore Ravens versus Houston Texans, which brought in an average audience of 24.3 million, and featured a halftime performance by Beyonce, delivered the most-streamed NFL games in history, the data showed.

“Fans in all 50 states and over 200 countries around the world watched some of the league’s brightest stars along with a dazzling performance by Beyoncé in a historic day for the NFL,” said Hans Schroeder, NFL executive vice president of media distribution, in a statement.

Netflix’s partnership with the NFL highlights the streaming giant’s efforts to capitalize on live sports. And the games and halftime show offered customers a glitch-fee showcase following the heavily criticized boxing match last month between social media influencer and boxer Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson.
Magnificent Seven stocks slide to cap the holiday week

After stacking impressive gains this year, some of the biggest names in tech are losing ground as investors take profits, rebalance their portfolios or reassess their lofty valuations. Tesla (TSLA) on Friday lost more than 4%. Nvidia (NVDA) gave up 3%, while Amazon (AMZN) decreased by 2.5%.

Every member of the Magnificent Seven was in the red Friday morning, dragging down the broader market and placing the “Santa Claus” rally on pause heading into the final trading week of the year.

Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT) were down more than 2%, while Meta fell just under 2%. Apple shares registered the most modest of the declines, coming down 1.5% after finishing at an all-time high on Thursday and closed in on a market cap of $4 trillion.

But even as investors fled the tech names, their losses come amid an epic run-up.
The year Washington tried to humble Big Tech

The US government long had the nation’s biggest tech giants in its sights, and in 2024, it hit bull’s-eye.

The big victory came in August when the Justice Department convinced a federal district court judge that Google (GOOG, GOOGL) had abused its search engine dominance and violated antitrust law.

What transpired in 2024 could have future implications for some of the other big names in the tech world, reports Yahoo Finance’s Alexis Keenan.

Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), and Meta (META) are all defending themselves against a series of other federal- and state-led antitrust suits, some of which make similar claims.

For now, Wall Street doesn’t appear rattled. The so-called Magnificent Seven stocks of the world’s largest technology companies helped push the market higher in 2024, thanks partly to advancements around artificial intelligence.

But the incoming Trump administration adds another layer of uncertainty to the next chapter of Big Tech antitrust enforcement.

Read more about Washington’s changing posture towards the biggest tech platforms.
Stocks slump but head for winning week

US stocks opened on a downbeat note as Wall Street slogged to the finish of a largely triumphant year.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) lost about 0.8%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) shed 1.3% Friday morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) lost 0.3%. Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) hovered near seven-month highs around 4.6%.

Wall Street has just three trading days remaining in a 2024 full of big gains and is hoping to resume a “Santa Claus” rally into the end of the year. The benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) is up more than 26% on the year, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) is up over 30%. The blue-chip Dow (^DJI) has risen a more modest 14%.
Airline stocks see best performance since 2014

Airline stocks soared in 2024. The S&P Supercomposite Airlines Index has climbed 60% for the year — its biggest yearly gain in a decade, Bloomberg reports.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) has risen roughly 27% over that time frame.

While major airlines Delta (DAL), United (UAL), Alaska (ALK), and JetBlue (JBLU) were all down slightly Thursday, they are set to post yearly gains far ahead of their S&P 500 peers.

United Airlines is the best performer of the group — its stock soared 144% in 2024. Meanwhile, Alaska Air Group shares are up nearly 72% for the year. Delta Air Lines rose 55% in that timeframe, and JetBlue climbed 41%.

American Airlines’ (AAL) performance was in line with its peers, while Southwest Airlines’ (LUV) 18% gain for the year fell behind.

At the same time, Spirit Airlines (SAVEQ) plummeted as it struggled to stay afloat post-bankruptcy.
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