Stocks Extend Gains Late; Dow Up More Than 200 Points, S&P 500 Nears Record High

What Were The Biggest Crypto Stories of 2023?

1 hour ago

Crypto currencies were moving lower on Tuesday, giving back some of the significant gains they’ve experienced throughout the year, especially in recent months amid optimism about the possible approval of spot bitcoin ETFs. Bitcoin was off more than 3% in mid-afternoon trading, but is still up about 150% for the year.

This past year was a pivotal one in terms of the crypto industry’s relationship with regulators and financial markets. U.S. authorities cracked down on major players and financial titans threw their hats in the ring as mainstream finance took steps to accept, if not embrace, crypto.

Read here about the four stories that sum up the year in crypto.

–Kyle Torpey

Bristol Myers Squibb Inks Another Multibillion-Dollar Deal

2 hr 59 min ago

Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) is buying RayzeBio (RYZB) for $4.1 billion to expand its cancer treatment options, its second multibillion-dollar acquisition in less than a week.

RayzeBio is developing ways to use radioactive particles to kill cancer cells. Bristol Myers Squibb said RayzeBio’s current pipeline includes programs that treat solid tumors, including gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, small cell lung cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma. 

Bristol Myers Squibb will pay $62.50 a share, a 104% premium. The company said it expects to finance the deal by issuing debt, and that it expects the transaction to be completed in the first half of next year. 

On Friday, Bristol Myers Squibb announced a $14 billion purchase of Karuna Therapeutics Inc. to boost its neuroscience portfolio.

BMY was down 2.1% at $51.22 at around 12:35 p.m. The stock is down nearly 30% for the year.

–Bill McColl

Intel Shares Jump After News of Israel Incentives

3 hr 21 min ago

Intel (INTC) shares jumped Tuesday after Israel’s government granted the semiconductor maker $3.2 billion in incentives for a $25 billion chip manufacturing plant.

The company is looking to expand its operations on its site in Kiryat Gat, where it already has a chip factory. The move is an important part of Intel’s efforts to create a more resilient global supply chain and is in addition to ongoing and planned manufacturing investments in the U.S. and Europe, the company said.

The agreement was originally announced in June by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called it the largest-ever foreign investment in Israel’s history.

At around 12:15 p.m. ET, shares of Intel were up 4.6%, trading at their highest levels since March 2022.

-Bill McColl

What to Expect From the ‘Magnificent 7’ in 2024

4 hr 11 min ago

The “Magnificent 7” stocks have significantly outperformed the major U.S. indexes this year as several got a boost from developments related to artificial intelligence (AI), but experts suggest many of these market leaders’ AI journeys have just begun, with more innovation in the AI space expected in 2024

After posting its worst performance since the Great Recession last year, the S&P 500 is up 25% this year, driven by gains made by the Magnificent 7. Since the start of 2023, Nvidia (NVDA) shares have more than tripled in value, while Meta (META) and Tesla (TSLA) more than doubled. In the same period, Amazon (AMZN) gained 80%, while Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOGL), and Microsoft (MSFT) rose nearly 60%.

Read more here about the outlook for each of the Magnificent 7 stocks in 2024.

–Naomi Buchanan

Home Price Data Shows Continued Growth

4 hr 39 min ago

Home prices nationwide grew at their fastest rate of the year in October, according to data released Tuesday, as the number of homes for sale remained low.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index showed prices were higher by 4.8% year-over-year in October, up from September’s annual price gain of 4%. The October rise, which marked the ninth consecutive month of gains, wasn’t quite as steep as the 5.1% increase that economists expected.

While mortgage rates have cooled down to around 7%, they were at 23-year highs during October when the current index’s data was collected. The result of the surge in mortgage rates has been a “lock-in” effect: Homeowners are reluctant to list homes and give up their lower mortgage rate.

That’s keeping home prices high due to the limited number of homes on the market. However, more recent data has shown that listings are on the rise as mortgage rates have started falling as hopes rise that the Fed will start cutting its benchmark interest rate.

–Terry Lane

Tepid IPO Market Unlikely To Strengthen Soon

5 hr 11 min ago

Stock market volatility, rising interest rates, and balance-sheet losses roiling the banking sector kept the market for Initial Public Offerings chilly this year, and it shows little signs of warming in 2024.

As of Dec. 19, 108 companies had priced IPOs in U.S. markets, a 52% increase from the same time last year. That’s the third-fewest in the past decade and 73% lower than the record highs of two years ago.

Likewise, IPO proceeds for listings with a market capitalization of at least $50 million rose to $19.4 billion, up from $7.7 billion in 2022—but that represents an 86% plunge from $142.4 billion in the same period in 2021.

Javier Avalos, co-founder and CEO of Caplight, which tracks trading in shares of private companies that comprise the breeding ground for IPOs, said it doesn’t appear the market will thaw soon. “The pre-IPO market is not really expecting a flurry of IPO activity in early 2024,” Avalos said, adding that most investment banks have mostly clear IPO calendars in the first half of the new year.

–Lyle Niedens

Advice from Financial Advisors Heading Into 2024

5 hr 36 min ago

The new year can be a great time for investors to check in on financial goals and to make changes. Financial advisors recommend building robust emergency savings and examining your portfolio in the context of your timeline. They also suggest creating a debt pay-off plan, considering tax implications, and thinking of predictable middle-term expenses. Read more here about what financial advisors are saying as we get set to turn the calendar to 2024.

–Naomi Buchanan

Will There Be a Santa Clause Rally?

6 hr 14 min ago

After a strong November and start to December for U.S. equities, with the S&P 500 gaining over 10% since the end of October, many investors will be looking for a “Santa Claus rally,” or a sustained increase in the stock market around the Christmas holiday.

Since 1945, the S&P 500 saw a Santa Claus rally that yielded positive performance in the final five trading days of the calendar year and the first two of the new year 77% of the time, CFRA Research found.

Investor optimism amid holiday festivities, the use of holiday bonuses to invest, lower trading volumes, end-of-year tax considerations, and holiday consumer spending boosting sales could all be possible explanations for why a Santa Claus rally might occur, according to J.P. Morgan.

Many investors also believe that a Santa Claus rally, or lack thereof, could have implications for the year to come, as the saying goes, “if Santa Claus should fail to call, bears may come to Broad and Wall,” referring to the location of the New York Stock Exchange.

–Naomi Buchanan

Stock Futures Tick Higher

6 hr 34 min ago

Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1% about 30 before the opening bell.

S&P 500 futures were also up 0.1%.

As were Nasdaq futures.