The market experienced a modest decline on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing lower for the third straight session. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher, breaking its 10-day losing streak. The Federal Reserve’s inflation measure showed a cooler reading, trimming losses in Wall Street.
Central bankers cut interest rates for the third meeting in a row, but signaled fewer future rate cuts than expected. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell expressed his desire to see inflation decrease. New York Fed President John Williams emphasized the importance of data dependency.
Meanwhile, some key stocks are worth watching on Friday. BTIG downgraded Lennar to “hold” from “buy”, citing concerns over unsold homes and higher prices. Despite this, many experts believe it’s a good time to buy into the market when stocks are oversold.
Warren Buffett made significant purchases in Occidental Petroleum and Sirius XM, increasing his stake in the energy giant to over 28%. FedEx shares jumped 8.5% as the company focused on its core delivery business.
Nike shares plummeted 6% after new CEO Elliott Hill outlined a strategy to turn around the company. Novo Nordisk shares tanked after trial results for an obesity treatment showed lower weight loss than expected. CVS’s recent Justice Department brief has raised concerns about the pharmacy giant’s future.
The House is set to vote on a temporary federal funding bill to avoid a government shutdown on Saturday. In related news, President-elect Donald Trump expressed his desire for a shutdown to occur before January 20th under “TRUMP”.
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/20/jim-cramers-top-10-things-to-watch-in-the-stock-market-friday.html