Stocks finished mixed Thursday, the Dow barely getting into the green, as investors hit pause on the early Santa Claus rally.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 28.77 points, or 0.07%, to end the session at 43,325.80 and post its five straight winning day, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.04% to close at 6,037.59 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.05% finish the day at 20,020.36.
Updated at 11:07 AM EST
Apple $4T!
Apple (AAPL) shares edged closer to the $4 trillion valuation mark in early trading following a price target upgrade from Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.
We believe Apple is heading into a multi-year AI driven iPhone upgrade cycle that is still being underestimated by the Street," Ives argued in a note that included a $25 price target boost on the stock, taking it to $325 per share.
Apple shares were marked 0.1% higher in early Thursday trading to change hands at $258.50, a level that would peg the stock's market value at just over $3.91 trillion.
Related: Top analyst revisits Apple stock price target on march to $4 trillion
Updated at 9:37 AM EST
Red open
The S&P 500 was marked 16 points, or 0.25% lower in the opening minutes of trading, with the Nasdaq down 44 points, or 0.22%.
The Dow fell 140 points while the mid-cap Russell 2000 retreated 15 points, or 0.65%.
BBG: The S&P 500 is on track for its largest gain relative to the rest of the world since 1997.$SPX $SPY pic.twitter.com/RpJbIQlvTJ
— Neil Sethi (@neilksethi) December 26, 2024
Updated at 8:44 AM EST
Labor strength
Jobless claims edged lower last week, Labor Department data indicated Thursday, with around 219,000 Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits over the period ending on December 21.
That takes the four-week average to 226,500 and the continued claims tally to 1.91 million.
Treasury yields remained higher following the data, with 10-year notes pegged at 4.635% and 2-year notes trading at 4.361%.
2s10s continues higher.. steepest since early June 2022
— Mike Zaccardi, CFA, CMT 🍖 (@MikeZaccardi) December 26, 2024
+27.4bps pic.twitter.com/Rb1Ydd6Fn5
Stock Market Today
Stocks are riding firm holiday gains so far this year, with the S&P 500 rising 1.1% over the shortened Christmas Eve session. Outsized gains for megacap tech stocks, as well as Apple's (AAPL) run toward a $4 trillion valuation, offset another move higher in Treasury yields that could define markets over the coming year.
Benchmark 10-year notes were marked at 4.613% in overnight trading, a level reflecting a gain of around 42 basis points this month and around 3.5 times the S&P 500 dividend yield of 1.32%.
Short-term yields have been rising as well, with 2-year notes now pegged at 4.347%, up around 20 basis points from late-November levels. Traders are pricing in fewer Fed interest rate cuts in 2025 and recalibrating their growth and inflation forecasts for the world's biggest economy.
Related: Fed interest rate cut bets in 2025 tied to Trump policy wild cards
Wall Street, meanwhile, is looking to trim some of its early week gains heading into today's session, although trading volumes are traditionally thin given both this year's Christmas holidays and the eight-day Hanukkah observances, which began on Wednesday night.
Futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 suggest a 32-point opening-bell decline, with those linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average indicate a 238-point pullback.
The tech-focused Nasdaq is called 133 points lower, with Tesla (TSLA) , Nvidia (NVDA) and Palantir (PLTR) active in premarket trading.
More Wall Street Analysts:
- Veteran analyst who forecast Rocket Lab's stock rally updates price target
- Analysts revamp Ciena stock price target after AI outlook
- Top analyst revisits Micron stock price target ahead of Q1 earnings
In Europe, several major markets remained closed for the region's post-Christmas holidays, including Boxing Day in Great Britain, which limited action for the bluechip benchmarks.
The Stoxx 600 index was marked 0.32% higher in Frankfurt.
Overnight in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.12% in Tokyo following dovish comments on rate hikes yesterday from Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda. The regional MSCI ex-Japan benchmark, meanwhile, edged 0.08% lower into the close of trading.
Related: Veteran fund manager delivers alarming S&P 500 forecast
