New Year, New Market Trends
As the first trading day of 2025 kicked off, Wall Street rebounded from the holiday break, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both rising 0.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also edged up, although it struggled to maintain its early morning gains.
Tech Stocks Lead the Charge
Several Big Tech stocks, including Nvidia, Meta, and Apple, drove the market higher, with shares rising as optimism around artificial intelligence continued to grow. However, Tesla’s stock took a hit, falling almost 6% after the electric vehicle maker posted its first annual decline in deliveries.
Investigations and Incidents
Meanwhile, authorities are investigating a series of incidents, including the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck loaded with fireworks and fuel canisters outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas, which killed one person. The FBI is also looking into whether the blast was an act of terrorism. Additionally, a US soldier has been linked to the rental of the Cybertruck involved in the incident.
Economic Data
In other news, US mortgage rates rose to 6.97%, reaching their highest level since early July. This increase weighed on applications for home purchases and refinancing, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. On a more positive note, weekly jobless claims fell to their lowest level since March, with 211,000 claims filed.
Corporate News
Apple’s shares fell around 2% after the iPhone maker offered rare price discounts on its latest models in China, reflecting rising competition from local handset makers. Cloudflare, on the other hand, saw its shares jump more than 5% after receiving a double upgrade from Goldman Sachs, which cited “improving sales and marketing productivity cycle” and “new AI inferencing use cases.”
Market Outlook
As the market looks ahead to 2025, investors are debating the role of the “Magnificent Seven” stocks, including Tesla, Apple, and Nvidia, in powering markets. While some analysts are optimistic about their potential, others are more cautious, citing concerns about production growth and competition. One thing is certain, however: the market is off to an interesting start in 2025.
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