Tesla and Nvidia led a tech-heavy comeback on Friday, helping US stocks shake off a downbeat start to 2025. The S&P 500 rose 1.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.8%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite led the gains with an increase of 1.8%.
The S&P 500 fell 1.5% the last 5 days of 2024, the worst end to a year since 2005. pic.twitter.com/bYVMg6oMnb
— Ryan Detrick, CMT (@RyanDetrick) January 6, 2025
Even with Friday’s rebound, all three major indexes finished the holiday-shortened week with losses.
S&P 500 down the last trading day of the year and first day of the following year?
Happened the past 3 years actually and '23 and '24 both did fine.
I wouldn't ever invest in just this, but interesting given all the talk about recent weakness. pic.twitter.com/OOnujvo8YR
— Ryan Detrick, CMT (@RyanDetrick) January 5, 2025
The S&P 500 and Dow both ended the week with losses of over 1%, while the Nasdaq faced a weekly drop of 2%. Tesla shares rose 8% after the electric vehicle maker reported positive projections for 2024, recovering from a 6% drop on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Nvidia shares were up more than 4% following another sizable gain on Thursday.
Despite broad-based sell-off in December, vast majority of global indices closed 2024 in black across asset classes; U.S. large caps reigned supreme, with S&P 500 soaring 25% in 2024 despite December’s 2.4% drop; outside U.S., China was best-performing major equity market with… pic.twitter.com/DA17kFk2gC
— Liz Ann Sonders (@LizAnnSonders) January 6, 2025
A fresh reading from the Institute for Supply Management’s Purchasing Managers Index indicated a slight improvement in US manufacturing for December, with a figure of 49.3%, up 0.9% from November but still signaling a contraction. Mike Johnson was re-elected as House Speaker on Friday after promising to make meaningful spending reforms and eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.
His commitment to form a new working group of independent experts helped secure his re-election. Legacy automakers GM and Ford reported strong fourth-quarter earnings. Ford’s US sales rose 8.8% in Q4, driven by a 21.1% increase in F-Series sales.
Tesla bolsters market rebound
GM’s Q4 sales were up 21% from the previous year, with full-year sales reaching 2.7 million vehicles. Rivian stock soared as the EV maker reported better-than-expected deliveries for Q4, totaling approximately 51,580 electric trucks for the year.
Despite the positive news, Rivian shares remain down roughly 25% from the previous year’s highs. Carvana shares dropped again on Friday following a critical short seller report from Hindenburg Research, alleging accounting fraud and suspicious stock sales by company insiders. The company refuted the claims, labeling them as misleading and inaccurate.
Nuclear energy stocks surged following news of a record $1 billion contract awarded to Constellation Energy to deliver nuclear power to federal agencies. Shares of Constellation and other nuclear companies, including Oklo and NuScale Power, saw significant gains. Shares of US Steel fell more than 6% on Friday after President Biden blocked its merger with Japan’s Nippon Steel.
The decision, influenced by political and union opposition, leaves the iconic Pittsburgh-based steelmaker’s future uncertain. Competitor Cleveland-Cliffs, initially interested in acquiring US Steel, may still pursue the purchase, although its prospects remain unclear. US stocks ended the first week of 2025 on a mixed note, with significant rebounds on Friday led by Tesla and Nvidia.
However, challenges remain across various sectors, from automotive to energy and steel, highlighting the complex economic landscape as the new year begins.
