All three major indexes are poised to start 2025 off with weekly losses
Per Larry David's statue of limitations, today is the last day to say Happy New Year. With markets closed on Wednesday for the holiday, low-volume trading and a light news ticker led to a quieter-than-usual week on Wall Street. Stocks struggled leading up to the new year, and a dramatic pivot lower marred the first trading day of 2025. The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) remains a topic of concern, as does elevated S&P 500 short interest. Despite the stellar gains wrought from 2024, all three major indexes are poised to open the year with weekly losses.
3 Underrated Headlines This Week
After a dire winter forecast, natural gas prices hit two-year highs, sending this exchange-traded fund (ETF) higher, but then sharply lower.
Delivery numbers for electric vehicles are always a lightning rod, and December's were no exception. Tesla (TSLA) left a lot of meat on the bone, while a key competitor gained more ground.
To end the week, President Joe Biden effectively put an end to proposed the U.S. Steel (X)--Nippon merger, a move that sent the former stock reeling.
Tech Movement to Monitor
In the tech world, MicroStrategy (MSTR) lapped up more Bitcoin (BTC) as the cryptocurrency makes another run at $100,000. Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) doubled down on software stock VeriSign (VRSN). Keith Gill, aka Roaring Kitty, sparked a retail trading frenzy over Unity Software (U), and Synaptics inked a deal with Alphabet (GOOGL) to shore up the latter's internet of things (IOT) network.
Helpful Signals to Start Your Year
A new month and year means plenty of signals flashing, bullish and bearish. Now might be the time to take a flier on Chipotle (CMG) stock and this media giant, and to stay away from drugmaker Pfizer (PFE). Longer term, just because the SPX is fresh off two-straight years of outsized gains, doesn't necessarily mean that what comes up, must come down. Plus, earnings are gearing up after the holiday pause, with blue chip Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) on the docket for next week.