The stock market fell into a correction Wednesday as the Dow Jones and Nasdaq broke below key levels. The major indexes rebounded Thursday, fueled by Apple, Tesla and other beaten-down stocks. A market rally attempt is now underway, but has a lot to prove. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq remain below their 50-day moving averages. Treasury yields continued to rebound, putting pressure on stocks, especially growth names. Southwest Airlines tumbled amid a major meltdown around the holidays, forcing mass cancellations for days.
For the year, the Dow Jones fell 8.6% as of Dec. 29, the S&P 500 19.2% and the Nasdaq composite 33%.
The Market Rally Is Dead; Long Live The Rally Attempt?
An ailing market rally became a correction Wednesday, with the Nasdaq hitting a two-year closing low. Rising Treasury yields, China Covid concerns and Apple iPhone production concerns played a role. But a new rally attempt got started Thursday with a strong bounce, led by tech giants Apple and Tesla. Stocks retreated somewhat on Friday to close out the year.
Crude oil prices fell while natural gas futures continued to tumble.
Economic Data Mixed
Holiday sales rose 7.6% from Nov. 1-Dec. 24, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, with e-commerce and restaurants leading the way. Initial jobless claims rose slightly more than expected in the week ended Dec. 24, but remain low at 225,000. Continuing claims climbed 41,000 to 1.71 mil in the latest week, the highest since early Feb. Pending-home sales tumbled 4% in November, while the Case-Shiller home price index showed year-over-year gains decelerating quickly.
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Tesla Dives, Rebounds
A Shanghai plant shutdown, weak China sales data and continued chatter around CEO Elon Musk and Twitter weighed on the EV giant early in the week. However, analysts are still bullish on Tesla even as the EV market and the auto industry broadly are expected to face roadblocks in 2023. On Thursday, the Treasury Department said the Tesla Model Y faces a $55,000 price cap to be eligible for U.S. tax credits of up to $7,500 starting Jan. 1. However, the rarely seen seven-seat Model Y variants will be eligible with a price tag up to $80,000. Meanwhile, any EV leased will be eligible for tax credits without regard to where the vehicle was assembled, its price or the buyer's income. Tesla rebounded after it plunged 11% on Tuesday, its worst one-day loss in 11 months.
Nio unveiled two models on Christmas Eve, an all-new EC7 coupe SUV and a redesigned, upgraded ES8 SUV. They'll begin deliveries in May and June, respectively.
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Cal-Maine Earnings Soar, But Fall Short
Cal-Maine Foods earnings spiked to $4.07 a share vs. 2 cents a year earlier thanks to soaring egg prices amid avian flu outbreaks. But that fell slightly short of views. Revenue leapt 110% to $801.7 million, topping views. Shares tumbled from record highs earlier in the week.
Southwest Airlines canceled the majority of flights for several days, even as other airlines quickly recovered from Christmas weekend storms. Southwest largely returned to normal by Dec. 30, but the carrier said the issues will "certainly" hit Q4 results. LUV stock tumbled.
