Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., November 29, 2024.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
The S&P 500 ticked higher to a new record to began December trading as investors looked for stocks to add to big November gains.
The S&P 500 was higher by 0.1%, touching a new intraday record. The Nasdaq Composite added 8%, also reaching a new intraday high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4% after briefly trading above 45,000. The blue-chip index had previously touched the milestone briefly a few times last week.
Intel jumped 3% after CEO Pat Gelsinger retired after four years of underperformance at the chipmaker. Shares of Tesla also gained 3% following an upgrade to buy from neutral at Roth MKM, with the firm citing as a catalyst Musk’s close relationship with President-elect Donald Trump. AI server maker Super Micro Computer surged 19% after a special committee found “no evidence of misconduct” and that the firm’s financial statements were “materially accurate.”
November marked the best month of 2024 for both the Dow and S&P 500, with the two gaining 7.5% and 5.7% respectively for the period. Most of the gains came in a postelection rally after President-elect Donald Trump emerged as the winner. Both of the indexes notched closing highs in Friday’s shortened trading session.
S&P 500, YTD
Small-cap stocks were also a winner in November as investors saw the group benefiting from Trump’s potential tax cuts. The Russell 2000 surged more than 10% in the month, also notching its biggest monthly gain of the year.
December is traditionally a good month for stocks, but Jay Hatfield, founder and CIO of InfraCap, only sees the market trading range-bound into the end of 2024.
“I think we’ll grind higher, but not rocket higher,” he told CNBC, citing 6,200 as a potential year-end estimate for the S&P 500. This is less than 3% higher than where the benchmark closed on Friday. “I think we’ve priced in the upside from the new, pro-business administration, and now we need to get details — not just tweets — but details of what the policy is.”
On Monday morning, freshly released economic data indicated that the U.S. manufacturing sector improved in November, although it still remained in contraction. That came ahead of a series of closely watched labor data due later in the week.
Cyber Monday sales expected to set a new record
Online sales are expected to break a record on Cyber Monday as retailers tee up discounts on electronics, clothing and a variety of other items, according to Adobe Analytics.
Consumers are expected to spend $13.2 billion during the follow-up to Black Friday, an increase of $750 billion, or 6.1%, from the event in 2023. Adobe expects electronics to sell at a 30% discount, with pronounced markdowns also for toys (26%), apparel and TVs (both 23%) and computers (22%).
The projected huge sales — $15.7 million every minute — follow blockbuster Black Friday receipts of $10.8 billion and Thanksgiving sales of $6.1 billion, up 10.2% and 8.8% respectively from a year ago.
“Discounts have exceeded expectations beginning on Thanksgiving, and Cyber Monday has essentially become ‘last call’ for shoppers looking to get the best deals this season,” said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights.
— Jeff Cox
Super Micro Computer pops 15% after special committee finds ‘no evidence of misconduct’
ISM manufacturing index tops forecast
A person works on a Bowlus recreational vehicle at Bowlus’ factory in Oxnard, California, Feb. 23, 2024.
Timothy Aeppel | Reuters
Activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector improved in November though it remained in contraction, the Institute for Supply Management reported Monday.
The ISM’s manufacturing index rose to 48.4, above the .5 reading in October and better than the Dow Jones estimate for 47.5. The index measures the percentage of companies reporting expansion, so anything below 50 indicates contraction.
Within the monthly survey, inventories, new orders and employment all showed gains while the prices index dropped 4.5 points to 50.3, an indication that inflation pressures are easing.
— Jeff Cox
Morgan Stanley double upgrades NextEra Energy Partners
The postelection sell-off for clean energy stock NextEra Energy Partners has gone too far, according to Morgan Stanley.
Analyst Robert Kad upgraded the stock to overweight from underweight. Kad said in a note to clients that the company — which holds an interest in several different types of renewable energy projects and a natural gas pipeline — will likely be insulated from policy changes under the Trump administration.
“While the recent US election has raised uncertainty around federal clean energy policy likely to serve as an overhang until IRA revisions are clearer, we see limited impacts for renewable infrastructure and double upgrade NEP to OW,” the note said.
The stock is down roughly 15.5% since the election.
Shares of NEP have fallen over the past four weeks.
In addition to being a prospective rebound trade, the company is also conducting a strategic review that should be completed in the coming months, according to Kad.
“Uncertainty around NEP’s longer-term strategy and growth potential makes us reluctant to make more than a short-term call for now, but holding a long position into the announcement would allow for participation in a positive outcome in which growth and sponsor support are reinstated,” Kad said.
Shares of NextEra Energy Partners rose more than 3% in premarket trading.
— Jesse Pound
Stocks open slightly higher
Gap, Tesla among stocks making biggest premarket moves
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
- Gap — The clothing retail stock jumped 4.7% after JPMorgan upgraded shares to overweight. The firm cited a strong start to the holiday shopping season and a multi-year growth outlook.
- Stellantis – Shares sank 9% after CEO Carlos Tavares stepped down from his role at the automaker, effective immediately. The company cited “different views” between Tavares and the board of directors as the reason for the departure.
- Tesla — Shares of the electric vehicle maker gained 2.2% after Tesla’s vice president of AI software tweeted on Saturday night that version 13 of Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” driver-assistance software has started rolling out to some customers.
For the full list, read here.
— Pia Singh
Intel pops 6% amid CEO retirement
Pat Gelsinger, CEO Intel, speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box at the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 16th, 2024.
Adam Galici | CNBC
Intel shares popped 6% after the chipmaking company announced that CEO Pat Gelsinger has retired.
The company named David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus interim co-CEOs.
— Samantha Subin
Black Friday spending up 3.4% from last year
First shoppers arrive at Best Buy store on Black Friday on November 29, 2024 in Burbank, Illinois.
Kamil Krzaczynski | Getty Images
U.S. retail sales, excluding automotive, increased 3.4% on Black Friday compared to last year’s Black Friday, data from Mastercard show.
Most Americans shopped online, with sales rising 14.69% versus last year. In-store sales were up 0.7%. Apparel, jewelry and electronics remained the top gifts.
Shoppers made the most of seasonal deals, Mastercard senior advisor Steve Sadove said in a statement.
“They’re more strategic in their shopping… prioritizing promotions that they believe hold the greatest value — opening their wallets, but with more intentional distribution,” said Sadove, former Saks CEO.
— Michelle Fox
Stifel raises Tesla price target over artificial intelligence business
Tesla isn’t just an electric vehicle company and shouldn’t be viewed as such, according to Stifel analyst Stephen Gengaro.
“TSLA is clearly not just an automaker, as evidenced by its current market cap surpassing the aggregate value of the top 10 global automakers,” Gengaro wrote in a Sunday note. “While we have confidence in TSLA’s Auto business, the significant value creation potential from its AI-based full self-driving capabilities and Cybercab (Robotaxi) underpin our positive outlook.”
Tesla stock.
The analyst reiterated a buy rating on Tesla stock and raised his price target to $411 from $287, equating to about 19% upside moving forward. Tesla stock has added nearly 39% in 2024.
— Brian Evans
Stellantis sinks 9% as CEO departs
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares gestures after a press conference, on the day he visits the Sevel automaker’s plant, Europe’s largest van-making facility, in Atessa, Italy, January 23, 2024.
Remo Casilli | Reuters
Stellantis shares tanked 9% before the bell after the automaker announced Sunday that its CEO Carlos Tavares has resigned.
The departure, effective immediately, comes as a result of “different views” between Tavares and the board of directors, the company said Sunday.
The Jeep maker established a new interim executive committee led by chairman John Elkan as it searches for its new CEO. Stellantis said it expects to finish the search during second half of 2025.
Shares fall as CEO resigns
— Samantha Subin, Mike Wayland
Australia hits fresh closing high as most Asian markets rise
Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly higher on Monday as the region kickstarted a data-heavy week, led by Australian markets.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded up 0.14%, ending at a record closing high of 8,447.9.
However, South Korea’s markets were the outlier in the region, as the Kospi slipped marginally to 2,454.48, and the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.35% to a 23-month low of 675.84.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was up 0.8% and closed at 38,513.02, while the broad-based Topix was 1.27% higher at 2,714.72.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.65% in its last hour of trade, while mainland China’s CSI 300 was up 0.79% to close at 3,947.63.
— Lim Hui Jie
Europe stocks open slightly lower
Stoxx 600 index.
European stocks opened lower Monday, with the Stoxx 600 index down 0.1% in early deals.
France’s CAC 40 index fell 0.77% as investors monitored ongoing political volatility in the country. Germany’s DAX was down 0.15% while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was flat.
— Jenni Reid
Stocks come off winning week and month
The market is coming off a winning week and trading month, which both concluded with Friday’s closing bell. For a refresher, here’s how the three major indexes performed:
- The Dow gained 1.4% in the week, pushing its monthly gain up to 7.5%.
- The S&P 500 added 1.1% on the week, finishing November higher by 5.7%.
- The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.1% in the week, ending the month with a 6.2% advance.
Notably, both the Dow and S&P 500 notched their best monthly performances of 2024 in November.
— Alex Harring
Stock futures are little changed
Futures tied to the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were all near flat shortly after 6 p.m. ET Sunday night.
— Alex Harring
Comments are closed.