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What you need to know
- The S&P 500 added 1.1% on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, as signs of decelerating inflation provided some reassurance heading into the year-end holidays.
- Shares of data analytics software firm Palantir Technologies soared ahead of the stock's addition to the Nasdaq 100 Index next week.
- Carnival shares moved up after the cruise company topped its forecasts for quarterly profits and announced a positive vision of 2025.
On the final trading day, major U.S. stock indexes moved higher.
Friday’s gains came as the latest Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) data—a gauge of inflation closely monitored by the Federal Reserve—showed price increases decelerating in November versus the previous month. Investors who were hoping to get a signal that the Fed’s recent interest rate cut would be followed by additional reductions in 2025, welcomed this reading.
The S&P 500 popped 1.1% higher, clawing back a portion of the losses posted earlier in the week as the Fed struck a cautious tone regarding next year's policy moves. Dow and Nasdaq both rose 1.2% and 0.1% respectively.
Shares of solar technology provider Enphase Energy (ENPH) rose 8.6%, gaining the most of any S&P 500 stock, after OTR Global lifted its view on the stock to “mixed” You can also find out more about us on our website. “negative.” Enphase, according to channel checks by market research firms, is benefiting from a decline in U.S. sales of solar string-inverters for competitor SolarEdge. Enphase began shipping its home battery systems to India earlier this week.
Palantir Technologies’ (PLTR), stock jumped by 8.5%. This continued a rally that will take shares in the big data analytics company 369% higher than they were at this point last year. Palantir reported earlier this month that the U.S. Army had renewed its contract. This company uses artificial intelligence software (AI) to speed up key decision making processes. Palantir is expected to be included in the Nasdaq 100 Index by next week.
Match Group’s (MTCH), shares rose 6.7% Friday after earlier declines this week due to downgrades from Jefferies and Morgan Stanley. While analysts have expressed concern about Tinder’s growth, Match Group’s biggest platform, they also highlighted recent Wall Street Journal reports that showcased investments made to enhance the user experience of the dating app.
Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL), a cruise operator, posted better than expected fourth-quarter profit, thanks to year-over-year increases in revenue from passenger tickets, shipboard services and other sources. It also noted the fact that the number of voyage bookings made during the fourth-quarter for next-year’s cruises exceeded the same figures last year, despite lower inventory. Carnival’s shares rose 6.4% on Friday while Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings shares increased 5.9%.
Dexcom, a medical device company (DXCM), added this week a new feature to its glucose monitors. The feature uses AI-generated tips to give patients personalized advice. Dexcom’s shares rose 5.6% Friday after Zacks Equities Research released a report stating that positive earnings and revenue expectations will help support strong returns in the stock by 2025.
Tesla (TSLA) shares wrapped up a volatile week of trading with a daily decline of 3.5%, logging the S&P 500’s weakest performance. This week’s volatility was triggered by the recall of 700,000 Tesla vehicles from the U.S. for a tire pressure monitoring issue.
FedEx, the package delivery company (FDX), has lowered its revenue forecast for this year and plans to split its freight division. FedEx’s shares were basically flat on Friday. However, this announcement has raised concern about the performance of LTL freight in the short-term, which is a factor that affects other trucking companies. Old Dominion Freight Line’s (ODFL) stock dropped 3.4%.
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