Ceo Ashworth Surrenders 11079 Of Amedisys Inc [Amed]

US benchmark equity indexes retreated Friday amid declines in certain mega-cap stocks.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.5% to 19,722, while the S&P 500 dropped 1.1% to 5,970.8. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.8% to 42,992.2. Consumer discretionary saw the biggest drop among sectors, while energy was little changed. No sector posted a gain.

Shares of chip-making giant Nvidia fell 2.1%, the steepest decline on the Dow. Tech majors Microsoft and Apple were among the worst performers on the Dow, along with e-commerce giant Amazon.com . Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) class A and C shares dropped around 1.5% each, while Meta Platforms (META) dropped 0.6%.

Electric vehicle maker Tesla saw the biggest decrease on the Nasdaq and the second-biggest on the S&P 500, down 5%. Retail giant Walmart also closed lower.

For the year so far, the Nasdaq has gained 31%, while the S&P 500 has advanced 25%. The Dow is up 14%. Tuesday will be the last trading day of this year.

"Investor sentiment is high entering 2025 as several of the 2024 positive trends that remain in place were bolstered by November (US presidential) election results, which ignited pro-growth policy expectations," D.A. Davidson said in a Friday note to clients. "This sets up conditions for equity prices to move higher if the US economy sustains growth above 2% and corporate earnings grow above 10%."

The US 10-year yield rose five basis points to 4.63%, while the two-year rate was little changed at 4.33%.

In company news, Lamb Weston shareholder Jana Partners has added Jeff Delapp to its slate of nominees for a potential overhaul of the frozen potato products supplier's board. Lamb Weston shares increased 2.6%, the best performer on the S&P 500.

UnitedHealth Group and Amedisys agreed to extend the deadline of their proposed merger as the deal faces scrutiny from the US Department of Justice over competition concerns. Amedisys shares jumped 4.7%, while UnitedHealth fell 0.2%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.9% to $70.27 a barrel Friday.

Commercial crude stockpiles in the US declined more than projected last week, according to government data. The number of oil rigs in the world's largest economy held steady at 483 in the week ended Friday, data compiled by energy services company Baker Hughes (BKR) showed.

Gold fell 0.8% to $2,632.60 per troy ounce, while silver lost 1.5% to $29.95 per ounce.

The S&P 500 Index Friday closed down -1.11%, the Dow Jones Industrials Index closed down -0.77% and the Nasdaq 100 Index closed down -1.36%. March E-mini S&P futures (ESH25) are down -1.08%, and March E-mini Nasdaq futures (NQH25) are down -1.30%.

Stocks on Friday settled moderately lower, weighed down by a selloff in the Magnificent Seven technology stocks. Also, higher T-note yields on Friday undercut equity prices. Low volumes and thin trading conditions due to holiday trading this week and next are leading to exaggerated moves in stocks.

The US Nov trade deficit widened to -$102.9 billion from -$98.3 billion in Oct, a larger deficit than expectations of -$101.2 billion, a negative development for Q4 GDP and bearish for stocks.

US Nov wholesale inventories unexpectedly fell -0.2% m/m versus expectations of a +0.1% m/m increase. Nov retail inventories rose +0.3% m/m, which is right on expectations.

Strength in Asian equity markets was supportive of US stocks. China’s Shanghai Composite Stock Index rose to a 2-week high Friday on the prospects of additional stimulus to bolster its economy. Japan’s Nikkei Stock index rallied to a 5-1/4 month high, led by strength in exporters as the yen weakened to a 5-month low against the dollar. Also, better-than-expected economic news on retail sales and industrial production boosted Japanese stocks.

The markets are discounting the chances at 11% for a -25 bp rate cut at the January 28-29 FOMC meeting.

Overseas stock markets on Friday settled higher. The Euro Stoxx 50 rose to a 1-week high and closed up +0.84%. China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed to a 2-week high and closed up +0.06%. Japan’s Nikkei Stock 225 rallied to a 5-1/4 month high and closed up +1.80%.

Interest Rates

March 10-year T-notes (ZNH25) Friday closed down -7 ticks. The 10-year T-note yield rose +3.4 bp to 4.617%. Mar T-notes Friday posted moderate losses but held above Thursday’s 7-month low. Carryover pressure from weakness in European and Japanese government bonds weighed on T-note prices. 10-year German bunds fell to a 1-1/4 month low, 10-year UK Gilts fell to a 1-week low, and 10-year Japanese JGB bonds dropped to a 13-year low. T-notes are also being undercut on the concern that President-elect Trump’s policy agenda may spark growth and inflation and potentially worsen the US fiscal backdrop. T-notes recovered from their worst levels after a slump in stocks boosted safe-haven demand for government debt.

European government bond yields on Friday moved higher. The 10-year German bund yield climbed to a 1-1/4 month high of 2.403% and finished up +7.3 bp to 2.396%. The 10-year UK gilt yield rose to a 1-week high of 4.645% and finished up +5.8 bp to 4.633%.

Swaps are discounting the chances at 100% for a -25 bp rate cut by the ECB at its January 30 policy meeting and at 12% for a -50 bp rate cut at that meeting.

US Stock Movers

Mega-cap technology stocks retreated on Friday and weighed on the broader market. Tesla closed down more than -4% to lead losers in the Nasdaq 100. Also, Nvidia closed down more than -2% to lead losers in the Dow Jones Industrials. In addition, Microsoft , Amazon.com , Alphabet , and Apple closed down more than -1%.

Cruise line operators moved lower Friday, with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings , Carnival , and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd closing down more than -2%.

Netflix closed down more than -2% on less-than-favorable reviews for the company’s new “Squid Game Season 2” released Thursday.

Crowdstrike Holdings closed down more than -2% on signs of insider selling after an SEC filing showed CEO Kurtz sold $6.5 million of shares on Monday.

Broadcom closed down more than -2% on signs of insider selling after an SEC filing showed CFO Spears sold $2.89 million shares last Friday.

KKR & Co closed down more than -1% after the Fly reported the company, along with Bain Capital, each offered over $5 billion for Japan’s Seven & I’s non-core assets.

Fastenal closed down more than -2% after announcing that CFO Lweis will resign in April.

Lamb Weston Holdings closed up more than +2% to lead gainers in the S&P 500 after an amended 13D regulatory filing showed Jana Partners LLC reported a holding in the company.

Defensive food-producing stocks rose on Friday due to weakness in the broader market. Hershey Co , Hormel Foods , Mondelez International , Kraft Heinz , Conagra Brands , and General Mills closed up more than +0.3%.

Progyny closed up more than +15% on signs of insider buying after an SEC filing showed Executive Chairman Schlanger bought $2.2 million shares on Thursday.

Amedisys closed up more than +4% after the company and UnitedHealth Group gave themselves more time for UnitedHealth Group to complete the $3.3 billion deal to purchase the company.

VeriSign closed up +0.6% after an SEC filing showed Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway bought $28.5 million of the stock in the three sessions to Tuesday.

Earnings Reports (12/30/2024)

Gencor Industries Inc (GENC) and Renovaro Inc (RENB).

On the date of publication, Rich Asplund did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policyhere.

Health care stocks were declining late Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index down 0.7% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) shedding 0.5%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) fell 0.9%.

In corporate news, Vaxart shares surged 20% after it said Friday it secured a $4.6 million increase in funding under a project agreement supported by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, raising the estimated ceiling for a mid-stage trial of its oral pill COVID-19 vaccine candidate to about $460.7 million.

Novartis must face certain claims alleging it provided kickbacks to physicians for prescribing Gilenya, its drug that treats multiple sclerosis, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Friday. Novartis shares shed 0.1%.

UnitedHealth Group and Amedisys agreed to extend the deadline of their planned merger as the deal faces scrutiny from the US Department of Justice over competition concerns. UnitedHealth shares were down 0.3% while Amedisys shares jumped 4.6%.

BioNTech shares were rising 0.2%. The company announced Friday separate agreements with the US National Institutes of Health and the University of Pennsylvania to settle royalty claims related to sales of its COVID-19 vaccine co-developed with Pfizer (PFE).