US close: Stocks lower as investors look to jobs report

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Alaska Air Group Inc.

$67.47

11:09 23/12/24

2.20%

$1.45

Wall Street stocks ended in negative territory on Monday, marking a departure from the Dow’s recent winning streak, which had extended for five consecutive weeks.

dl alaska airlines plane travel snow usa us united states of americal pd — Alaska AirlinesSharecast / public domain image

Nvidia Corp.

$139.67

13:09 23/12/24

3.69%

$4.97

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.11% at 36,204.44.

The S&P 500 dropped 0.54% to finish at 4,569.78, while the Nasdaq Composite fell by 0.84% to settle at 14,185.49.

One of the factors influencing market sentiment was the rise in treasury yields during early trading hours.

The increase raised concerns among investors that expectations of future rate cuts might have been overly optimistic.

In currency markets, the dollar was last up 0.01% against both sterling and the euro, trading at 79.17p and 92.29 euro cents, respectively.

Meanwhile, the greenback remained unchanged on the yen, changing hands at JPY 147.21.

“After Friday’s positive finish US markets have started the week on the back foot, opening lower in response to the weak start to the week for European markets, and a rebound in bond yields which has seen the Nasdaq 100 slide,” said CMC Markets chief market analyst Michael Hewson.

“Alaska Air is sharply lower after the weekend announcement it had agreed to buy its rival Hawaiian for $1.9bn.

“Today’s surge in bitcoin has seen the likes of crypto-related shares surge … with the likes of Coinbase, MicroStrategy, Marathon Digital, and Riot Platforms all strongly higher.”

Factory orders take a hit in October

In economic news, factory orders took a notable hit in October, declining 3.6% on a month-on-month basis, according to the Census Bureau.

The downturn followed a revised 2.3% increase in September, marking the most significant drop since April 2020.

The industrial sector was grappling with the challenges of elevated interest rates and persistent inflation pressures.

Market expectations were for a 2.8% decline.

Factory orders were still down when excluding the transportation sector, registering a 1.2% decrease.

Furthermore, when defence-related orders were excluded from the equation, the decline was even more pronounced, with orders sinking by 4.2%.

Investors were meanwhile keeping a keen eye on November’s pivotal jobs report, slated for release on Friday.

The report could offer further insights into the Federal Reserve’s stance on its interest rate policies.

Comments from Fed chair Jerome Powell recently suggested that it might be “premature” to anticipate any shift in monetary policy, leaving traders seeking clarity on the central bank’s future actions.

Alaska Airlines flies lower on Hawaiian deal, crypto plays soar

In equity markets, Alaska Air Group tumbled 14.22% after the Seattle-based airline announced an agreement to acquire rival Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9bn.

The move was part of a strategic effort by both carriers to expand their presence along the West Coast.

However, it had a polar opposite effect on Hawaiian Holdings, which skyrocketed by 192.59% in response.

Several prominent tech giants saw declines as part of a sector-wide pullback, with Nvidia down 2.68%, Facebook owner Meta Platforms off 1.48%, and Google parent Alphabet losing 1.96%.

On the upside, notable gains were seen among cryptocurrency players, with Marathon Digital Holdings up 8.47%, Riot Platforms ahead 8.93%, Coinbase Global adding 5.48%, and MicroStrategy gaining 6.74%.

The positive movements were attributed to Bitcoin crossing the $41,000 mark to achieve a 19-month high.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

Dow Jones - Risers

3M Co. (MMM) $103.44 3.60%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $105.06 1.55%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $115.14 1.47%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $324.30 1.38%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $157.99 0.73%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $183.19 0.66%
Boeing Co. (BA) $234.87 0.43%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $161.10 0.34%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $158.88 0.32%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $349.39 0.28%