On December 31, 2024, traders were working at the New York Stock Exchange.
New York Stock Exchange
Cryptocurrency trading jumps. Roaring kittens boost meme stocks. The broader market is tearing apart without an obvious catalyst.
Animal spirits begin to flee in 2025 trading.
On Thursday, the first trading day of the new year, the S&P 500 ended its best two-year run since 1998, and many speculative stocks rose sharply.
Stocks tied to the price of Bitcoin surged as the cryptocurrency climbed back above $96,000. Microstrategy gained 3% after rising more than 360% in 2024. Mara Holdings and Anti-riot platform After a big surge in 2024, it is also trading higher.
Elsewhere, retail traders active on social media were busy playing a guessing game after internet celebrity Roaring Kitty posted another cryptic message on X from a short video of late musician Rick James. Some believe meme stock leader Keith Gill is referring to unified softwarewhose shares soared 11%, while others thought he was back to peddling his original favorite products game stationwhose shares were also subject to bidding.
Meanwhile, 2024’s big winner semiconductor stocks are once again helping to lead the market after the artificial intelligence trade lost some steam late last year. Broadcom rose 2% on Thursday, while NVIDIA up 1.6%.
Elsewhere, golf stock Topgolf Callaway Brands rose 8.5% after Jefferies upgraded the stock to buy from hold. The investment bank said the golf equipment maker’s stock looks oversold and raised its price target to 65% of the stock’s closing price this year.
As market speculation heats up, major stock indexes are rising as 2025 begins. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both rose 0.7%.
Thursday’s dramatic moves were similar to the initial rebound after Donald Trump’s November election victory, with investors betting that his pro-business policies would drive strong business and economic growth. By the end of 2024, those gains slowed amid growing concerns that the president-elect’s protectionist policies could stoke inflation or disrupt the economy and as the Fed signaled fewer rate cuts in 2025.
“Many investors believe the incoming administration’s push for deregulation will unleash ‘animal spirits,'” Lisa Shalett, chief investment officer at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, said in a recent note to clients. “But what if it only accelerates the concentration of monopoly power in the hands of a few, weakens the effectiveness of broad economic measures, and leaves more people behind?”
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