Stocks Tumble As Traders Rethink Santa Rally, Crude Tops $70, Bitcoin Slips To $94,000: What's Driving Markets Friday?

Wall Street turned volatile Friday as four days of gains give way to fresh selling pressure driven by investor uncertainty over the incoming Trump administration’s economic policies and the Federal Reserve’s path forward.

Major indices experienced wide losses by midday trading in New York, nearly erasing prior gains seen earlier this week, clouding the outlook for a Santa Rally.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 tumbled 2%, on track for its second-worst session this month. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow saw notable losses, while small caps underperformed large-cap counterparts.

On the data front, the U.S. goods trade deficit widened to $102.86 billion in November 2024, surpassing expectations of $100.7 billion, as imports jumped 4.5%, according to an advance official estimate.

Treasury yields were little moved but remained elevated, with the long-dated 30-year yield hovering at the highest levels since May.

In commodities markets, oil emerged by rising 1%, with West Texas Intermediate light crude topping $70 per barrel amid recent declines in in commercial crude inventories.

In cryptocurrency markets Bitcoin BTC/USD dropped 1.7% to $94,000, heading for its second consecutive weekly loss— the first since September.

Friday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY fell 1.6% to $591.61.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA eased 1.2% to $427.96.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series QQQ tumbled 2.1% to $518.58.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM fell 2.3% to $220.55.
• The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund XLE outperformed, flat for the day; the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK lagged, down 2.4%.

Friday Stock Movers

• Tesla Inc. TSLA sank 4.8% as investors reassessed its valuation after a 73% year-to-date surge.
• Crypto-related stocks pulled back strongly: KULR Technology Group Inc. KULR tumbled 7.4%, MicroStrategy Inc. MSTR slipped 3.6% and Coinbase Global Inc. COIN fell 3.5%.
• Lamb Weston Holdings Inc. LW gained 3.6% after shareholder Jana Partners added Jeff Delapp to its board nominee slate, signaling a potential board overhaul, according to a Friday regulatory filing.

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