US stock futures stepped higher on Friday, looking to shake off a downbeat start to 2025 as markets waited for manufacturing data and Tesla (TSLA) shares struggled for a comeback.
Futures on the S&P 500 (ES=F) rose 0.2%, while those on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) were also up roughly 0.2%. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) put on 0.3%.
Friday is the last day for the S&P 500 (^GSPC) to pull off a “Santa Claus” rally, watched closely as a historical harbinger of solid returns for January and the year.
But hopes are dim after the benchmark fell again on Thursday to notch a five-session losing streak, the longest since April. The S&P 500 and Dow are both on track to end the holiday-shortened week with losses of over 1%, while the Nasdaq is facing a weekly drop of almost 2%.
Meanwhile, Tesla shares wavered along the flat line, erasing earlier pre-market gains after the EV maker said its sales in China climbed to a record high in 2024. Tesla’s first yearly decline in global sales dragged the stock down 6% on Thursday.
US Steel stock slid almost 8% on reports that President Joe Biden has decided to block Japanese buyer Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion takeover of the company, which had become a lightning rod for political opposition.
On the data docket, an update on US manufacturing due later should provide insight into whether the health of the US economy will keep the Federal Reserve reluctant to cut interest rates.
LIVE 2 updates
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Good morning. Here’s what’s happening today.
Earnings: None of note
Economic news: ISM manufacturing, ISM prices paid (December)
Here are some of the biggest stories you may have missed:
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JP Morgan catches an early 2025 upgrade
Eyes on JPMorgan (JPM) this morning after Wolfe Research upgrades the stock.
What analyst Steven Chubak is saying about his upgrade:
“While JPM is not a 2025 top pick, we believe shares should outperform universal broker/trust peers. When we downgraded shares alongside our second quarter 2024 preview, we believed deeper rate cuts were poised to weigh on net interest income (given JPM’s heavier short-end gearing). Since that time, rate expectations have been revised higher and we now see upside to 2026 consensus net interest income, supporting a more robust EPS growth algorithm through 2026. While absolute valuation (P/E and price to tangible book value) is still a bit frothy vs. money center peers, on our 2026 EPS we estimate that JPM trades at ~12.5x (modest premium to peers) — given the firm has consistently generated the strongest EPS growth among our bank coverage (supported by capital markets/deposit share gains), we believe a premium valuation is warranted, prompting our upgrade to out-perform.”
JPM shares are up about 1% in pre-market trading.