Wall Street was anticipating a significant decline on Monday, December 30th, following a more than 1% drop in both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq last Friday. Bond yields experienced a slight decrease at the beginning of the new week but remained elevated, with the 10-year Treasury yield hovering just under 4.6%. The market will be closed on Wednesday for New Year's Day. The Santa Claus rally, which typically occurs in December, emerged briefly last week before fading away.
This decline is unlikely to influence stock performance in the new year. Monday's sell-off, characterized by low trading volume, was primarily driven by stocks expected to perform well in 2024. \ At the final Monthly Meeting, Jim Cramer revealed his 12 core stock holdings for 2025. Throughout the week, CNBC will be profiling each of these holdings, including an analysis of Nvidia's potential to achieve three consecutive years of strong performance. Additionally, CNBC will provide commentary on undervalued stocks within the portfolio. \ BTIG technical analysts noted that Apple's 2.56% gain last week marked its fifth consecutive weekly increase of 2% or more. Historically, the one-month return following such a move has been negatively correlated with Apple's performance. The stock experienced substantial growth in 2024, prompting CNBC to take profits last Thursday. \The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil surged above $71, reaching its highest level since December 19th. Natural gas prices spiked more than 15% early Monday, nearing $4 per million British thermal units. Shares of Coterra Energy, CNBC's sole energy stock holding, increased by almost 2%. \Both AT&T and Verizon were targeted by cyberattacks, but the companies confirmed that their networks are now secure. While this may not be a favorable day for the tech sector, cybersecurity companies like CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks remain crucial. \ Former President Jimmy Carter passed away on Sunday at the age of 100