U.S. stocks rose on Friday, looking to shake off a bearish start to 2025 as markets awaited manufacturing data and Tesla (TSLA) stock looked for a recovery.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.6%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) also rose about 0.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gained 0.8%.
Friday is the last day for the S&P 500 (^GSPC) to stage a “Santa Claus” rally, closely watched as a historical harbinger of strong returns for January and the year.
But hopes are slim after the benchmark fell again on Thursday to record a five-game losing streak, its longest since April. Both the S&P 500 and Dow are on track to end the holiday-shortened week with losses of more than 1%, while the Nasdaq faces a weekly decline of nearly 2%.
Meanwhile, Tesla shares rose after the electric vehicle maker said its sales in China hit a record in 2024. Tesla’s first annual drop in global sales sent the stock down 6% on Thursday.
Shares of US Steel (X) fell nearly 8% after President Joe Biden blocked Japanese buyer Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion acquisition of the company, which had become a lightning rod for political opposition .
On the data front, an update on the U.S. manufacturing sector due later should provide insight into whether the health of the U.S. economy will keep the Federal Reserve reluctant to cut interest rates.
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