Major US equity benchmarks rose on Thursday, starting off the new year on a positive note after sharp gains in 2024.
At the time of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.8%, while the S&P 500 index also rose 0.8%. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.9% from the previous close.
Energy stocks helped build gains on Thursday with Chevron rising 1.5% and renewable stock Enphase Energy surged more than 5%.
Meanwhile, shares of Tesla dropped after the company posted declines in annual deliveries last year.
Stocks fell in the last few sessions of last year, but the year still produced sharp returns for investors.
“It was an inauspicious end to the year, despite a strong overall performance,” David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, said.
Only the mid-cap, domestically-focused Russell 2000 managed to edge into positive territory to close out the last trading session of 2024. The trouble started after the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting on 18th December.
Investors resorted to profit taking in the final few days of 2024. This is likely to keep the “ Santa Claus rally” from materialising.
The market phenomenon is categorised with stocks rising in the final five days of the year and the first two trading days of January.
“The argument that irrational exuberance, animal spirits and bubble-like optimism were the primary drivers behind the market’s levitation seem largely inconsistent with stronger data and more subdued recession risks,” UBS strategist Jonathan Golub was quoted in a report by CNBC.
Golub said:
Either way, it is clear that investors are extremely optimistic as we enter 2025. Maybe this exuberance is reason for concern. Maybe 2025 will be another gangbuster year.
Tesla plunges
Shares of Tesla dropped more than 5% on Thursday as the electric-vehicle maker’s annual deliveries declined for the first time.
Tesla reported 495,570 in vehicle deliveries for the fourth quarter of 2024.
That is below the vs 504,770 expected by analysts, according to FactSet’s StreetAccount, and means that deliveries were down about 19,000 for the full year.
At the time of writing, the stock was down 6.4% from the previous close.
Meanwhile, shares of Apple posted a more than 2% decline on Thursday as the firm settled a $95 million lawsuit.
Apple has agreed to a cash settlement of $95 million in a lawsuit, which alleged that the company’s voice-activated assistant Siri violated user privacy.
The stock was down more than 2% down on Thursday.
Manufacturing PMI shows weakness
Manufacturing activity in the US dipped and was in contraction territory.
According to the S&P Global’s purchasing managers’ index in December, the figure edged lower to 49.4, down 0.4 points from the previous month.
A reading below 50 indicates contraction in the activity.
S&P attributed the weakness to a pullback in new orders along with scaled back plans for purchasing and inventory, according to the CNBC report.
Jobless claims lower
Initial filings for unemployment benefits in the US declined last week as companies have been reluctant to lay-off employees, according to the Labor Department.
Claims for benefits were at 211,000 for the week ended December 28, down 9,000 from the preceding week and lower than analysts’ expectations.
Meanwhile, crude prices rose on Thursday as stockpiles in the US fell last week, according to the American Petroleum Institute.
Additionally, China’s factory activity showed growth in December, while the country has pledged to promote proactive measures to boost its economy.
China is the world’s largest importer of crude oil.
At the time of writing, the West Texas Intermediate crude was up 2.5% at $73.56 a barrel.
Brent crude was up 2.4% at $76.42 a barrel.
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