Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on December 31, 2024. It is the last trading day of the year in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
On the first trading day of the new year, stocks did not change much. Investors hope the market can go up like it did before. The S&P 500 had two big years in a row with over 20% gains.
The Dow Jones fell by 54 points, which is 0.1%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also rose just a little bit, under 0.1%.
Big companies like Apple and Tesla saw their stocks drop. Apple fell over 2%, and Tesla dropped about 4% after showing fewer deliveries last year. But Nvidia went up by 1.9% and helped balance things.
In 2024, the S&P 500 rose 23%, and the Dow went up nearly 13%. The Nasdaq did the best, climbing 29%.
Many people are hopeful as we start 2025, even though some are worried if stocks can keep rising.
A jobless claims report showed a good sign. Unemployment claims are down this week.
Vocabulary List:
- Investors /ɪnˈvɛstərz/ (noun): Individuals or entities that allocate capital with the expectation of generating a financial return.
- Unemployment /ˌʌnɪmˈplɔɪmənt/ (noun): The state of being jobless or without work.
- Gains /ɡeɪnz/ (noun): Increases in wealth or resources especially in investment contexts.
- Claims /kleɪmz/ (noun): Formal requests for something that is believed to be due or owed.
- Balanced /ˈbælənst/ (adjective): In a state of equilibrium; distributed evenly.
- Trading /ˈtreɪdɪŋ/ (noun): The act of buying and selling securities or commodities in financial markets.
