Tuesday’s sell-off in US markets prepared Wall Street for a gloomy start to 2024 following a successful year that saw the S&P 500 fall short of a new record high.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) increased just over the flatline, but the benchmark S&P 500 (\GSPC) fell by around 0.6%. With a loss of about 1.6%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led the losses.
After two months of increases that enabled the major gauges close 2023 with substantial yearly gains, the stock market surge came to a standstill on Friday. In addition, the S&P 500 recorded its longest winning run since 2004 with its ninth consecutive weekly triumph, and it is slowly approaching its all-time closing high of 4,796.56.
After Barclays analysts reduced their rating on Apple’s shares, citing worries about the demand for new iPhones, tech companies lost momentum. Shares of Apple (AAPL) dropped by nearly 4% as tech stocks declined.
The December employment data, which is expected on Friday, is one economic update that might put the rally to the test and could influence the Federal Reserve’s decision-making. Stocks have risen as a result of investor wagers that interest rate reduction will occur quickly and deeply in 2024.
Following the US Navy’s weekend sinking of three Houthi boats, Iran responded by sending a warship to the Red Sea, which caused oil prices to rise elsewhere in the markets. Futures for West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) and Brent (BZ=F) crude increased by more than 1% as hostilities increased.
Meanwhile, as expectations that the SEC will soon approve a spot bitcoin ETF rose, bitcoin prices surged over 3% to surpass $45,000 for the first time since early 2022.
The Federal Reserve concluded its tightening campaign at the end of 2023, and the December employment report, which provides the most recent information on the health of the labour market, is set to be issued on Friday morning.
According to statistics from Bloomberg, the report is anticipated to reveal that 168,000 nonfarm payroll jobs were added to the US economy in December, while the unemployment rate increased slightly to 3.8%. The US economy created 199,000 new jobs in November, while the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 3.7%.
The Jefferies economics team, under the direction of Thomas Simons, released a research note on Friday stating, “We do not expect to see a sharp contraction in employment just yet, but remain cautious as we head into 2024.” “With the final UAW strike in the
Following the announcement of new delivery data that revealed the all-electric manufacturer established a record for the fourth quarter and reached its 2023 delivery target, shares of Tesla (TSLA) slightly over the flatline on Tuesday.
Tesla announced 484,507 deliveries for the fourth quarter, above Wall Street projections of 483,173, as aggregated by Bloomberg. According to Pras Subramanian of Yahoo Finance, the number signifies an all-time record quarter for Tesla, about 20,000 more than its previous record quarter of 466,000 units delivered in the second quarter of last year.
In 2023, Tesla’s stock price more than quadrupled, which contributed to the Magnificent Seven stocks’ and the market’s overall growth. However, the business is up against more competition, particularly in China, as rivals compete for market share for the
The Chinese carmaker BYD said that it outsold Tesla for the first time in Q4 by delivering 526,409 pure EVs worldwide. Although Tesla produced more electric vehicles in 2023, BYD is poised to overtake Tesla as it increases its sales in Europe and mainland China.
After Tesla released its delivery numbers, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives published a note to investors stating, “This was an important quarter for Tesla to show strong deliveries with clear momentum into 2024 as demand has upticked since 3Q based on all our global checks.” “Price remained steady and even rose in China during the quarter, which is welcome news for Tesla supporters as the country’s price war has finally reached a peaceful stage.”