Bulls Hope for 'Santa Claus Rally' to Close Out 2024

33 minutes ago

Bulls are hoping Santa puts a bow on the strides the stock market has made so far in 2024.

Wall Street is eager for a so-called Santa Claus rally to propel the S&P 500—up about 25% this year through Monday’s close—to new highs. According to Wall Street lore, the stock market consistently rises during the final five trading days of the year and the first two sessions of the next. This year, that stretch starts today.

The market is well poised to rally this year, said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group, despite the Dow Jones Industrial Average recently falling for several days running and other indexes faltering before advancing yesterday.

Santa has a track record of delivering for Wall Street at the tail-end of Christmas. From the fifth-last trading day of the year through the second session of the next year, the S&P rallied 76% of the time from 1999 on, according to Carson Group's analysis. Gains amounted to an average of 1.7% when there was a rally, the analysis shows.

"It’s a modest rally," said the Almanac's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Hirsch, whose father coined the "Santa Claus Rally" phrase. "But when it doesn't appear, that means that those traders are nervous."

Some significant economic downturns have emerged after stocks stumbled during these seven sessions, analysts say.

Still, every rule of thumb has exceptions. Last year, the S&P dipped 0.9% during this period before going on to hit record after record in 2024.

-Sarina Trangle

Tesla Leads Magnificent Seven Stocks Higher

1 hr 27 min ago

Tesla’s (TSLA) shares were among the S&P 500’s top gainers Tuesday morning as the Magnificent Seven big tech stocks rose on Christmas Eve. 

Shares of the EV maker were recently up more than 4%, making them the second-best performer in the benchmark index—second only to Super Micro Computer (SMCI).

Other “Mag 7” stocks also rose this morning, a holiday-shortened session that comes ahead of a day off tomorrow and kicks off the Santa Claus Rally period. The major indexes were rising this morning, led by the Nasdaq Composite. 

Amazon.com (AMZN) added 1.3%, the largest gain of the rest of the Magnificent Seven. Nvidia (NVDA) and Meta Platforms (META) were recently up 0.9%. Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), and Alphabet (GOOGL) were also in the green. 

-David Marino-Nachison

U.S. Steel Stock Wavers as Regulators Punt Nippon Deal to Biden

2 hr 30 min ago

Shares of U.S. Steel (X) slipped 1% Tuesday after U.S. regulators failed to agree on whether to allow Japanese firm Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion purchase of the company to go through, instead passing it on to President Biden to decide.

The President now has 15 days to make the determination. Both he and President-elect Donald Trump have expressed opposition to the merger, arguing that a key American steelmaker should not be owned by a foreign entity.

U.S. Steel responded to the decision by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), saying the deal “enhances U.S. national and economic security through investment in manufacturing and innovation.” It added that the Nippon transaction is “the best way, by far, to ensure that U.S. Steel, including its employees, communities, and customers, will thrive well into the future.”

The Japanese firm has pledged to invest more than $2.7 billion in U.S. Steel facilities, and CEO David Burritt has warned of plant closures and the possibility of moving the company’s headquarters from Pittsburgh, where it’s been since 1901, if the government blocks the sale.

U.S. Steel shares have yo-yoed this year on the back-and-forth news about the Nippon acquisition. They tumbled to their lowest level since September last Friday after warning that falling steel prices and the costs associated with the construction of a new factory in Arkansas will impact current quarter results. The shares have lost more than a third of their value this year.

-Bill McColl

American Airlines Shares Recover from Morning Slump as 'Technical Issue' Disrupts Flights

3 hr 31 min ago

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) canceled a brief nationwide ground stop requested by American Airlines (AAL) on Christmas Eve, one of the busiest travel days of the year.

"A technical issue is affecting American flights this morning," American Airlines said, according to reports. "Our teams are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience."

Americans are expected to travel in large numbers this holiday season. The American Automobile Association (AAA) earlier this month estimated that more than 119 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home between Dec. 1 and New Year's Day, topping a record set in 2019. More than 7.8 million of those were expected to fly, AAA said.

American shares were down about 1% half an hour before markets opened, after recovering from a sharp 4% drop earlier Tuesday morning.

-Aaron Rennie

Stock Futures Steady Ahead of Holiday-Shortened Session

4 hr 11 min ago

Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down less than 0.1% in early trading on Tuesday.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.1%.

Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.2%.

Article Sources Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. We also reference original research from other reputable publishers where appropriate. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in our editorial policy.

1. Carson Group. "Nine Reasons We Still Believe in a Santa Claus Rally."

2. U.S. Steel. "U. S. Steel Statement on CFIUS Referring Decision on Pending Transaction with Nippon Steel to The President."

3. Federal Aviation Administration. "Air Traffic Control System Command Center."

4. The Wall Street Journal. "American Airlines Says Technical Issue Affecting Flights."

5. CNN. "American Airlines grounds all flights in the United States after a 'technical issue'."

6. AAA. "Record Number of Holiday Travelers Expected to Close Out 2024."

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