Stock market today: Live updates

This year’s holiday shopping season is poised to generate big gains, according to Truist Securities.

“We expect this Holiday Season to hit a record high for U.S. eCom and Digital Ad spending, driven by a resilient consumer buoyed by healthy employment and income growth, and by more efficient digital channels fine-tuned by two years of pandemic and advancements in AI,” analyst Youssef Squali wrote to clients Monday.

“3P tracking shows that aggregate QTD holiday spending is off to a strong start, and our own tracking of AMZN shows in-line to slightly better than expected results (thru 12/2) with the company set to claim ~49% share of U.S. ecom (our est.),” he added.

Along with Amazon, Squali said he expects this season’s momentum to be reflected in other companies, citing Meta, Trade Desk and Alphabet as the biggest beneficiaries.

— Sean Conlon

The market has managed to shake off the numerous unpredictable political and geopolitical events over the past few weeks.

“With relatively few identifiable risk events before President-elect Trump assumes office on 20 January, and unexpected events unknowable by definition, the rally could easily continue well into 1Q,” chief investment officer Americas Jason Draho wrote in a Monday note.

However, Draho added that while this is “great for holiday spirit,” it does leave the market more vulnerable to even small risks happening.

The investor cited two upcoming risk events: November’s consumer price index slated for release on Friday and the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting next week.

— Hakyung Kim

Last week, a federal appeals court upheld a law that gives ByteDance until January to sell TikTok. While it remains to be seen if the app is indeed taken off app stores by Jan. 19, Deutsche Bank analyst Benjamin Black analyzed the potential ramifications such a move might have on TikTok’s competitors.

“We calculate that every 10% shift of total TikTok U.S. engagement to its competitors drives an incremental $5 in value/share for Snap (44% upside from Friday’s open), $10/share (2% upside) for Meta, with the impact to Alphabet insignificant given the lower relative margins for YouTube, and the fact that the lion’s share of GOOG’s value is tied back to Search,” the analyst wrote in a Monday note.

— Lisa Kailai Han

A strong performance from Boeing is helping the Dow outperform other large-cap averages on Monday.

The aerospace manufacturer was up 3.4% in afternoon trading, making it the best performer in the 30-stock Dow. If the rally holds, it would be the best performance for Boeing’s stock since a 4.1% gain on Nov. 22. The stock also now has a positive return month to date.

Gold prices hit two-week highs on Monday on renewed buying by China’s central bank. Anticipation of a U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cut next week also added to bullishness around the commodity.

Spot gold gained 1.2% to $2,665.39 per ounce. U.S. gold futures added 1.1% to $2,688.40.

“The most important factor is news that People’s Bank of China reported that it again resumed its gold purchases … the market is getting hopeful that we could see other central banks follow suit and we could see a resumption of record territory buying,” Bart Melek, head of commodity strategy at TD Securities, told Reuters.

Read more on gold’s moves here.

— Pia Singh, Reuters

Shares of AppLovin fell more than 11% in afternoon trading, putting the stock on pace for its worst day since May 24, 2022, when the stock fell 12.8%. Earlier in the session, the stock had fallen around 15%, putting it on pace for its largest percentage decrease on record.

The move comes after Barron’s reported on Friday that the company was a leading candidate to join the S&P 500 in its quarterly rebalance. However, the name was not among those chosen to join the index, per S&P Global’s announcement later Friday. During that day’s trading, the stock rose nearly 6%, hitting a new 52-week high.

AppLovin has also had a monster year, with shares surging more than 793% year to date and more than 312% over the past three months.

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading:

For the full list, read here.

— Pia Singh

SolarEdge surged 17% after announcing it had begun shipping a domestically produced battery. With this product, the company said it has a portfolio that qualifies for a bonus credit focused on domestic content in the U.S.

Canadian Solar and Array Technologies also gave the group upward momentum, with both jumping more than 8% in the session.

— Alex Harring

Energy stocks bucked the S&P 500‘s downturn on Monday.

The sector of stocks within the S&P 500 rose about 0.7%. By comparison, the broad index as a whole slid 0.4%.

APA led the energy sector higher with a gain of just more than 5%. Occidental Petroleum and Valero Energy were the next-biggest gainers, as each rose 2.7%.

Materials and health care were the only two other sectors within the S&P 500 tracking for gains on Monday. Communication services was the worst performer, on the other hand, with a loss of more than 1%.

— Alex Harring

What’s left of the final month of trading in 2024 will largely be influenced by the final Federal Open Market Committee meeting and U.S. Consumer Price Index report of the year, according to Bank of America.

“We believe the two remaining major events of the year (CPI and FOMC) can set the near-term direction of the market,” analyst Gonzalo Asis wrote Sunday. “A softer print can clear the path for a year-end rally, with the second half of December being the second strongest period of the year, up 1.0% on average.”

“On the contrary, a firmer print can revamp volatility, especially after the 5% post-election rally,” the analyst added.

— Brian Evans

Hershey shares jumped about 14% on a Bloomberg report that Mondelez, the owner of Cadbury and Toblerone chocolate, was considering making an offer to buy its rival. If the news sounds like deja vu, there is a good reason. Mondelez has been down this road before.

Any bid to buy Hershey must win the approval of the Hershey Trust, which has 80% voting power at the company. The trust was created to help fund the Milton Hershey School, and has scuttled past acquisition attempts. However, the trust has been diversifying its holdings in recent years, which could potentially open the door to a different outcome this time. The Bloomberg report, which cites people familiar with the matter, said talks are early and may not result in an offer. CNBC has reached out to the Hershey Trust for comment.

— Christina Cheddar Berk

Financial stock Apollo Global Management is set to join the S&P 500 in two weeks, and that move could help the stock even if it does not result in a big price jump, according to Wells Fargo.

“Index related buying equates to approximately 17 days of the stock’s typical trading volume. While APO’s passive ownership % is set to rise, the near-term price bump will be less than the buying demand implies as the add was substantially priced in and the buying pressure represents a churn from short-term investors playing the add. Still, broadening of the shareholder base should improve the stock price’s durability for the long run,” analyst Michael Brown said in a note to clients.

Workday is also joining the S&P 500 along with Apollo. Those stocks are replacing Amentum Holdings and Qorvo, respectively, which are both sliding down to the S&P SmallCap 600.

The changes take effect prior to the open of trading on Dec. 23.

— Jesse Pound

The narrowing of the market rally last week is sending mixed signals for stocks, according to Canaccord Genuity.

“Our shorter-term indicators show a deterioration in SPX breadth, coupled with increased market complacency,” analyst Michael Welch wrote in a Monday note. “At the same time, our two intermediate-term indicators moved in opposite directions; the market’s overbought condition increased while our gauge of sentiment pulled back.”

The S&P 500 moved about 1% higher last week. That weekly gain added to the index’s year-to-date gains of more than 27%.

— Sean Conlon

These are some of the stocks moving before the bell on Monday:

Click here for the full list.

— Alex Harring

There is continued upside ahead for Ralph Lauren, according to Bank of America.

Analyst Christopher Nardone reiterated his buy rating on the fashion stock, simultaneously lifting his price objective to $267 from $255. This updated forecast is approximately 18% higher than were shares closed on Friday.

Following a series of investor meetings with the company’s executives, Nardone wrote that he was optimistic about the company’s near- and long-term prospect.

“We expect the momentum from last quarter will continue and the brand to capitalize on strong brand heat this holiday season across the globe,” he wrote.

As an additional catalyst, Nardone added that the company’s core consumer base remains very resilient and expects Ralph Lauren to continue to focus on this base, with women’s as the company’s largest opportunity.

Meanwhile, Nardone wrote that Ralph Lauren could see further margin expansion from here. The company has continued to demonstrate a willingness to invest for the long term, such as through launching a new multiyear systems upgrade.

“We expect continued AUR gains and lower cotton costs will help drive further GM expansion and more than offset headwinds from labor, non-cotton product costs, and freight,” he elaborated. “This coupled with the recent stabilization of N.A. wholesale and leverage on recent investments should help drive margin expansion beyond the 15% ccy target over the medium term.”

Shares of Ralph Lauren have surged 60% in 2024.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Nvidia shares dropped more than 2% during Monday premarket trading after a Chinese regulator said the chipmaker was being investigated for potential violations of antimonopoly law.

The Chinese government said on Monday that its State Administration for Market Regulation launched a probe into Nvidia. It comes amid a big year for shares, with the stock up more than 187% in 2024.

— Alex Harring, Samantha Subin

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 2.75% in its final hour of trade after China vowed to boost domestic consumption with “more proactive” fiscal measures and “moderately” looser monetary policy next year.

Before the news, mainland China’s CSI 300 index fell 0.17% to close at 3,966.57 after China’s consumer price growth fell below expectations in November.

South Korea’s benchmark Kospi stock index fell 2.78% to 2,360.58, while the small-cap Kosdaq dropped 5.19% to 627.01 after President Yoon Suk Yeol survived an impeachment vote over the weekend and fallout from his brief declaration of martial law continues to roil the country.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.18% to end the day at 39,160.5, while the Topix gained 0.27% to 2,734.56 after Japan’s third-quarter gross domestic product was revised to 0.3% on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ended marginally higher at 8,423.

— Dylan Butts

European markets opened higher on Monday, kicking off the new trading week on a positive note.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.33% at 8:07 a.m. London time, with almost all sectors trading in the green. Mining stocks led gains, adding 1.5%.

Major indexes across the region also rose, with France’s CAC 40 adding around 0.8%, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 adding 0.33% and Germany’s DAX rising 0.15%.

— Sophie Kiderlin

The November consumer price index due out Wednesday is expected to show a slight uptick in pricing pressures.

Economists polled by Dow Jones expect a 0.3% and 2.7% monthly and yearly increase, respectively. That would be up from 0.2% and 2.6%, respectively, from the prior month.

— Sarah Min

Stock futures opened little changed Sunday night.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 15 points, or 0.03%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.05% and 0.12%, respectively.

— Sarah Min