23Dec2024 Market Close & Major Financial Headlines: Markets Close In Positive Territory As Christmas Closes In
Summary Of the Markets Today:
- The Dow closed up 67 points or 0.16%,
- Nasdaq closed up 192 points or 0.98%,
- S&P 500 closed up 43 points or 0.73%,
- Gold $2,627 down $18.30 or 0.69%,
- WTI crude oil settled at $70 up $0.04 or 0.04%,
- 10-year U.S. Treasury 4.591 up 0.067 points or 1.481%,
- USD index $108.08 up $0.46 or 0.43%,
- Bitcoin $94,036 down $1,119 or 1.18%, (24 Hours),
*Stock data, cryptocurrency, and commodity prices at the market closing
Today’s Highlights – Market Summary
The stock market showed a positive performance on Monday, with tech stocks leading the rally. Semiconductor stocks performed well, with Nvidia (NVDA) and Broadcom (AVGO) rising more than 3% and 5%, respectively. Meta (META) and Tesla (TSLA) also contributed to the broader market gains. Walmart (WMT) fell as much as 3% following a lawsuit by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Microsoft (MSFT) and Nike (NKE) also underperformed within the Dow. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed as much as 7 basis points to 4.6%. Consumer confidence in December saw its largest month-over-month decline since November 2020. Investors are considering the path of interest rates for next year, with the Fed hinting at rates staying higher for longer. The CME FedWatch tool indicates that investors expect the Fed to hold rates steady next month, with a 50-50 chance of a cut or hold in March. The market is entering a shortened trading week, with the stock market closing at 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday and the Christmas holiday on Wednesday. Dow Jones Laggards Despite the positive momentum, investors remain cautious about the economic outlook and the Federal Reserve’s future actions regarding interest rates.
Click here to read our current Economic Forecast – December 2024 Economic Forecast: Insignificant Improvement And Still Indicating a Weak Economy
Today’s Economic Releases Compiled by Steven Hansen, Publisher:
New orders for manufactured durable goods in November 2024 fell from 5.9% year-over-year last month to -5.2% year-over-year. The primary reason for the decline is Boeing – but even so, absolutely no capital goods sector is doing well. Manufacturing is in a recession in the US.
My favorite coincident indicator, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) three-month moving average, CFNAI-MA3, decreased to –0.31 in November 2024 from –0.27 in October. A recession has historically been associated with a CFNAI-MA3 value below –0.70. An expansion has historically been associated with a CFNAI-MA3 value above –0.70 and a significant likelihood of an expansion has historically been associated with a CFNAI-MA3 value above +0.20. The bottom line is that the economy appears to be very modestly expanding, but viewing the purple line on the graph below, the economy has been slowly weakening since mid-2024.
Sales of new single-family houses in November 2024 were 8.7% above November 2023. The median sales price of new houses sold in November 2024 was $402,600. The average sales price was $484,800. The seasonally-adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of November was 490,000. This represents a supply of 8.9 months at the current sales rate. Note from the graph below that the median sales price of new homes is little changed over the last two years. This is a major reason why new home sales are still relatively strong.
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® declined by 8.1 points in December to 104.7 (1985=100). Dana M. Peterson, Chief Economist at The Conference Board’s view:
The recent rebound in consumer confidence was not sustained in December as the Index dropped back to the middle of the range that has prevailed over the past two years. While weaker consumer assessments of the present situation and expectations contributed to the decline, the expectations component saw the sharpest drop. Consumer views of current labor market conditions continued to improve, consistent with recent jobs and unemployment data, but their assessment of business conditions weakened. Compared to last month, consumers in December were substantially less optimistic about future business conditions and incomes. Moreover, pessimism about future employment prospects returned after cautious optimism prevailed in October and November.
Here is a summary of headlines we are reading today:
- Workers Seek Shelter As Hanford Nuclear Complex Issues Leak Alert
- Saudi Arabia Becomes Top Buyer Of Russian Fuel Oil
- Nickel’s Price Plunge: Indonesian Dominance Shakes Global Markets
- Turkey’s Rise in Syria Stokes Regional Rivalry with Iran
- Russia Loses Indian Oil Market Share to Middle East’s Exporters
- High Electricity Taxes Are Crippling European Industry
- Russia Expands Global Nuclear Footprint Despite Western Pushback
- Qatar Threatens to Halt LNG Exports to Europe Over Green Regulations
- Trump Threatens Panama Canal Takeover Over “Excessive” Fees
- Trump’s 25% tariff could be an existential threat to Canada’s recovering auto industry
- U.S. sues Walmart, Branch Messenger over payment accounts for delivery drivers
- Nordstrom to go private in $6.25 billion deal with founding family, Mexican retailer
- America’s Own Assad: Egypt Under Sisi Has 70,000 Political Prisoners
- Elon Musk: “The Fed Is Absurdly Overstaffed”
Click on the “Read More” below to access these, other headlines, and the associated news summaries moving the markets today.