Stocks close lower in volatile start to 2025 as S&P 500 losing streak grows

The major averages finished the first day of 2025 in the red, but they were well off their lows of the session. The S&P 500 has now fallen for five straight trading sessions, its longest losing streak since a six-day slide ending April 19 of last year.

— Jesse Pound

With less than an hour to go in the trading day, the major averages are off their lows of the day.

The Dow is down about 180 points, or 0.4%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are also down 0.4%.

Among S&P 500 sectors, energy is a bright spot, climbing 0.9%. Consumer discretionary is the worst-performing group, down more than 1.3%.

— Jesse Pound

The major averages are off to a disappointing start to the year, but the story is more positive under the hood.

Stocks on the New York Stock Exchange were split evenly between advancers and decliners, according to FactSet. On the Nasdaq, more stocks were actually rising than falling.

Market breadth has taken on extra important in recent weeks because it was poor in December, even on days when the market averages climbed.

— Jesse Pound

Virtually all asset classes have begun to “suffer” as a result of the Federal Reserve’s hawkish messaging at its December meeting, according to HSBC.

“Hawkish pivot by the Fed prompts a further rise in yields, triggering what we call the Danger Zone,” Max Kettner, the bank’s chief multi-asset strategist, wrote in a Thursday note. “This means that January is likely to remain choppy for virtually all asset classes, but should create attractive entry points given that fundamentals are still on a solid footing — we think [the first half of 2025] will bring a proper Goldilocks backdrop.”

Kettner added that he remains bullish on U.S. tech stocks in the case of a further dip in the sector.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Wells Fargo has a positive outlook on banks this year.

“This is the most positive [regulatory] change environment for banks in 3 decades,” analyst Mike Mayo said in a Thursday note to clients. “We expect inflection in [net interest income], loans, deposits, capital markets, operating leverage, EPS growth and regulatory oversight—all for the better.”

Mayo reiterated Citigroup as his top pick for 2025, saying the bank should outperform peers with improvements in earnings per share, efficiency and returns. “We forecast a pivotal moment for the stock when returns move from value destruction to value creation in 2025-2026,” he said about Citi.

State Street and JPMorgan are Mayo’s other favorites. Both banks should beat consensus expectations on their fourth-quarter performances, he said.

— Pia Singh

DXY rises to levels not seen since November 2022

Stocks took another leg lower in midday trading, and the major market averages are now near their lows of the day. The Dow is down more than 250 points after being up about 360 points at morning highs.

— Jesse Pound

Solar stocks rallied to kick off the new year after ending 2024 on a negative note.

The Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) climbed more than 5%, on track for its best day since September. Thursday’s rally would also snap a four-day losing streak.

Invesco Solar ETF, 1-day

Sunnova led the fund higher on Thursday with a surge of more than 16%. SolarEdge followed, jumping nearly 11%.

Solar stocks appeared to be lifted by a report from electric vehicle maker Tesla showing record deployment and deliveries for energy storage products. Tesla is not in the exchange-traded fund, so the stock’s slide on Thursday did not directly affect any moves in the fund.

The ETF is coming off a rough patch, with 2024 marking its fourth negative year in a row. With a drop of nearly 38%, 2024 was also its worst year since 2016.

— Alex Harring

The bond market has seen its own intraday reversal, and the 10-year Treasury yield is now up slightly on the day at 4.591%. Bond yields move opposite of price.

The rise in yields may have been a factor leading to stocks falling from their session highs.

The 10-year Treasury yield turned positive in midday trading.

Constellation Energy shares advanced 6.5% in midday trading, after the U.S. General Services Administration awarded Constellation more than $1 billion in combined contracts for nuclear energy.

“For many decades, Constellation’s nuclear fleet has provided carbon-free, reliable, American-made energy to millions of families and institutions,” Constellation President and CEO Joe Dominguez said in a statement. “Frustratingly, however, nuclear energy was excluded from many corporate and government sustainable energy procurements. Not anymore.”

Constellation Energy

The Dow lost its initial gains on Thursday.

A customer walks out of a McDonald’s restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska, on Oct. 23, 2024.

Mario Tama | Getty Images

Wells Fargo added McDonald’s to its long tactical ideas list for the first quarter of 2025.

The stock has struggled since a deadly E. coli outbreak was first announced in October. However, the bank’s equity research department said the new year should be one defined by the fast-food chain catching up on same-store comps, unit growth and valuation.

“MCD’s stock has been in the penalty box post the E. coli outbreak, with shares range bound,” the team wrote in a Thursday note. “But we see MCD breaking out.”

Shares rose about 2% in Thursday’s trading session. The stock finished 2024 down more than 2%, hurt by a 4.8% drop in the fourth quarter.

— Alex Harring

Manufacturing activity in December edged lower and held in contraction territory, according to a report Thursday from S&P Global.

The firm’s purchasing managers’ index for the month edged lower to 49.4, down 0.4 points from the November reading though above the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 48.3. A reading below 50 on the diffusion index indicates contraction.

S&P attributed the weakness to a pullback in new orders along with scaled-back plans for purchasing and inventory.

— Jeff Cox

The Nasdaq Composite’s dip into the red for the day proved short-lived. The tech-heavy index quickly bounced back and is now up about 1%, ahead of the Dow and S&P 500.

Chip stocks are helping boost the Nasdaq, with Nvidia up more than 2%.

Jesse Pound

The Nasdaq briefly turned negative in early trading, hurt in part by Tesla’s slide. The tech-heavy index was last up about 0.2%.

— Jesse Pound

Wall Street is starting off 2025 on a positive foot.

The Dow opened higher by about 295 points, or 0.7%. The S&P 500 added 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite also rose 0.5%.

— Jesse Pound

Tesla’s new Model 3 sedans wait to be shipped aboard at Shanghai Haitong International Automotive Terminal in Shanghai, China, on March 14, 2024.

VCG | Getty Images

Shares of Tesla were under pressure Thursday morning after the company disclosed that annual deliveries declined for the first time.

Tesla reported 495,570 in vehicle deliveries for the fourth quarter of 2024. That is below the 504,770 expected by analysts, according to FactSet’s StreetAccount, and means deliveries were down about 19,000 for the full year.

The stock was down more than 3% shortly before the opening bell.

Shares of Tesla were under pressure after fourth-quarter delivery numbers missed expectations.

A “Now Hiring” sign in the window of a Sephora store at Queens Center Mall in Queens, New York.

Lindsey Nicholson | UCG | Universal Images Group | Getty Images

Initial filings for unemployment benefits moved lower last week as companies have been reluctant to part with workers, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Jobless claims totaled 211,000 for the week ending Dec. 28, down 9,000 from the upwardly revised level of the prior period and below the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 225,000.

On continuing claims, which run a week behind, the level fell from what had been a three-year peak, down to 1.844 million, or a decrease of 52,000.

— Jeff Cox

CBRE may be poised for big gains in the coming months, according to Jefferies.

Shares rose more than 2% in the premarket after analyst Peter Abramowitz upgraded the stock to buy from hold. His upgraded price target implies nearly 16% upside from Tuesday’s close.

“We believe CBRE should continue to post strong top-line growth in [Global Workplace Solutions], driven by its market leading position in the outsourcing business (an industry with strong tailwinds),” the analyst wrote in a Thursday note. “We view this as a mid-to-high-single-digit growing market, but note outsized prospects for CBRE, given that the company’s scale allows it to gain market share by improving the competitiveness of its product offering, while realizing margin savings.”

On top of seeing that particular business unit outperform expectations, Abramowitz believes transaction activity could also see a pickup, calling for top-line growth in advisory sales of more than 25% year over year in 2026.

CBRE outperformed the broader market in 2024, with a gain of 41% over the past 12 months. The stock has been particularly hot over the past six months, surging 51%.

— Sean Conlon

Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange on Dec. 31, 2024.

NYSE

Historical and technical trading patterns point to a modest gain for stocks in 2025, according to Oppenheimer technical analyst Ari Wald.

A year-end target of 6,400 for the S&P 500 “balances the bull and bear case” for stocks, Wald said in a note to clients Thursday.

“Our S&P 500 expected return for 2025 is 6%, indicating S&P 6,400 using 6,000 as an approximate starting point, balanced between what we see as below-average market-top risk to start the year (bull case: 6,700) and longer-term studies that indicate the S&P is likely to moderate over the next 12 months following back-to-back above-average years (bear case: 6,000). We see a trend channel that aligns with these approximations too,” Wald said in the note to clients.

Notably, this is lower than the formal Oppenheimer prediction from strategist John Stoltzfus. His target of 7,100 is the highest in the CNBC Market Strategist Survey.

— Jesse Pound

Equity futures continued to gain ground Thursday morning.

At roughly 7 a.m. in New York, Dow futures were up more than 300 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures had gained more than 1%.

Crypto prices were also moving higher, potentially pointing to a broader risk-on move for the day. The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) was up more than 3% in premarket trading.

— Jesse Pound

stoxx 600

Oil and gas and mining stocks led gains and were last 1.47% and 1.32% higher, respectively. Banks meanwhile dipped 0.1% and media stocks fell 0.33%, making them the only two sectors to pull back.

Major regional bourses also gained on Thursday, with the U.K.’s FTSE 100 adding 0.29%, France’s CAC 40 rising 0.21% and Germany’s DAX climbing 0.55%.

— Sophie Kiderlin

Visitors look at items for sale at a stall in the Panjiayuan Market in Beijing, China, on Dec. 6, 2024.

Kevin Frayer | Getty Images

SINGAPORE — Asian stocks traded mixed Thursday, with China stocks leading losses as several major markets resumed trading after the New Year’s Day holiday.

Mainland China’s CSI 300 dipped over 3% lower before narrowing the losses to 2.91%, ending at 3,820.39. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled 2.37% in the final hour of trade.

South Korea’s Kospi index inched lower to close at 2,398.94, while the Kosdaq added 1.24% to 686.63. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.52% and finished at 8,201.2.

Markets in Japan will remain closed for the rest of this week.

— Anniek Bao