S&P 500, Dow Hit Record Highs, Post Biggest Monthly Gains of 2024

Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Friday

11 hr 35 min ago

Advancers

• Shares of premium apparel retailer Ralph Lauren (RL) enjoyed the strongest gains of any S&P 500 stock, jumping 3.9%. In its most recent earnings report, released earlier this month, the company posted better-than-expected quarterly profits and lifted its sales guidance, highlighting gains in direct-to-consumer sales. Ralph Lauren’s store in New York City has drawn attention for its holiday display featuring an interactive version of the brand’s Polo Bear that can blow kisses and take selfies with passing shoppers.

• Tesla (TSLA) shares added 3.7% following positive commentary from Wedbush Securities, which reiterated its “outperform” rating and $400 price target on the EV maker’s stock. Analysts believe Tesla is positioned to benefit from a proposed federal framework for autonomous vehicles under the incoming Trump administration, which could serve as a catalyst for the company’s artificial intelligence and self-driving goals.
• Shares of semiconductor equipment makers pushed higher following reports that the Biden administration is considering updated restrictions on exports to China that would be less stringent than previously proposed rules. Lam Research (LRCX) shares gained 3.2%.
• Casino operators received a boost as China announced a loosening of visa restrictions, making it easier for residents of certain regions to travel to gaming hotspot Macau. In addition, a report from Zacks Equities Research highlighted Las Vegas Sands (LVS) for its strong strategic positioning and capital return plans. Las Vegas Sands shares jumped 3.2%, while shares of fellow hotel and casino company Wynn Resorts (WYNN) added 3%.

Decliners

• Shares of server and data storage provider Super Micro Computer (SMCI) fell 6.9%, the steepest decline in the S&P 500 on Friday. Although the company submitted a plan last week aimed at addressing delays in its financial reporting and avoiding the delisting of its stock from the Nasdaq, Supermicro has not provided a specific timeline for releasing its overdue annual report. It may take time for the newly named auditor to revise financial statements, and Supermicro prepaid debts with a provision that the annual report be filed by year-end.
• VeriSign (VRSN) shares sank 2.3%, reversing a portion of the gains posted by the stock in the previous session after the internet infrastructure company renewed its agreement with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the internet organization that oversees online domain names. While the renewed deal is a positive sign for the company’s capacity to maintain its revenue streams, VeriSign remains the subject of antitrust concerns regarding a perceived monopoly in the domain registry industry.
• Shares of Texas Pacific Land Corp. (TPL) also gave back some of their pre-Thanksgiving gains, slipping 2.2%. The company has drawn attention for establishing innovative uses for its land holdings in the oil-rich Permian Basin, including bitcoin mining, solar installations, and water and wastewater services for fracking operations.

–Michael Bromberg

Tesla Posts 38% Gain in November

12 hr 5 min ago

Tesla (TSLA) shares gained nearly 4% Friday as the stock surged late in the abbreviated trading session.

Part of the reason: a bullish note from Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, who maintained an outperform rating and a $400 target price on the stock, the latter which is the highest tracked by Visible Alpha and well above its average around $255. (The stock ended the week around $345.)

Ives’ principal argument Friday was that the incoming Trump administration, of which Tesla CEO Elon Musk is an active part, will clear the way for the company’s aspirations for self-driving cars and artificial intelligence.  

“The next step the Street awaits is a formal federal framework for fully self-driving vehicles as one of the Transportation Department’s first key priorities,” Ives wrote. “This would be a huge step forward in easing US rules for self-driving cars and be a significant tailwind for Tesla’s autonomous and AI vision heading into 2025. 

Ives pegs those efforts as potentially worth $1 trillion to Tesla’s market value. “We believe the march to a $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion valuation for TSLA over the next 12 to 18 months has now begun,” he wrote.

Tesla shares gained 38% in November amid the post-election optimism, boosting the company’s market value to nearly $1.1 trillion.

–David Marino-Nachison

S&P 500, Dow Post Biggest Monthly Gains of 2024

13 hr 1 min ago

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average finished November with monthly gains of 5.7% and 7.5%, respectively, marking their biggest one-month gains of the year.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 6.2% this month, the best performance for the tech-heavy index since a 6.9% increase in May.

The major indexes rebounded from a down month in October as optimism related to Donald Trump’s decisive victory in the early-November presidential election fueled gains.

For the holiday-shortened trading week, the Dow added 1.4%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq tacked on 1.1%, respectively.

Supermicro Slides to Wrap Up Volatile November

14 hr 47 min ago

Super Micro Computer (SMCI) was leading S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite decliners Friday as the embattled server maker and Nvidia (NVDA) partner continued its rollercoaster ride.

Shares were down nearly 7% in late-morning trading trading at around $32.75. For the month, the stock has gained about 12%, though it’s still well off its high for the year of around $120 in March.

Supermicro shares rose nearly 80% last week after the company filed a compliance plan to avoid a potential Nasdaq delisting and got a mention from Nvidia in the chipmaker’s earnings call.

The stock had slumped for several months in the wake of accounting and corporate governance issues that, in part, led to the resignation of the company’s auditor and delayed filing of several financial reports. The stock traded as low as $17.25 in mid-November.

Applied Therapeutics Plunges After FDA Rejects Drug

15 hr 58 min ago

Applied Therapeutics (APLT) shares cratered Friday as the biopharmaceutical firm reported that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejected its application for its experimental treatment for a rare metabolic disease known as Galactosemia.

The company said it had received a Complete Response Letter from the FDA that said that after it completed a review of the drug, govorestat, it was unable to approve Applied Therapeutics’ New Drug Application (NDA) in its current form. The FDA pointed to “deficiencies in the clinical application.”

Patients with Galactosemia cannot process the simple sugar galactose. The company noted that approximately 3,300 people in the U.S. suffer from the disease, as well as 4,400 in the European Union (EU). “Newborn screening for Galactosemia is mandatory in the U.S. and most E.U. countries,” the company said.

Applied Therapeutics added that it is “reviewing the feedback from the FDA and plans to immediately request a meeting to discuss requirements for a potential resubmission of the NDA or appeal of the decision along with appropriate next steps.”

The stock lost nearly three-quarters of its value in early trading Friday, hitting its lowest level since January.

–Bill McColl

Holiday Trading Schedule for U.S. Financial Markets

16 hr 48 min ago

After a day off for the Thanksgiving holiday, trading resumed Friday but will wrap up early, with the stock market closing at 1 p.m. ET and the bond market at 2 p.m.

The markets will keep those same, shorter hours on Christmas Eve, which falls on Tuesday, Dec. 24, and remain shut on Christmas Day. The markets will return to their normal schedule on Thursday, Dec. 26th.

The bond market has another early closure scheduled on New Year’s Eve, or Tuesday, Dec. 31. Both markets will be closed on Wednesday, Jan. 1, New Year’s Day, and reopen as usual a day later.

Major Indexes Set to Post Big Monthly Gains

17 hr 5 min ago

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are on track to post big monthly gains thanks to a post-election rally that has taken major indexes to a series of record highs in recent weeks.

Heading into Friday’s trading session, the Dow has gained 7% so far this month, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are both up about 5%.

Futures Point to Higher Open for Major Indexes

17 hr 56 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.3%.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.2%.

Nasdaq 100 futures were also up 0.2%.