Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading: Hershey , Mondelez International — Hershey shares jumped roughly 13% after Bloomberg News reported that Cadbury and Oreo maker Mondelez is again trying to buy the chocolate company. News of the attempted takeover put Hershey shares on pace for their best day since June 2016, when Hershey previously publicly disclosed a $23 billion bid from Mondelez. Mondelez fell 2%. China-based stocks — U.S.-listed shares of stocks PDD Holdings , JD.com and Trip.com each skyrocketed more than 10% after China’s Politburo pledged to ease its monetary policy stance to boost domestic growth in 2025. Alibaba and Tencent shares gained 9% and 5% on the news, respectively, while automaker Nio rallied more than 14%. Macy’s — The stock gained 1% following activist investor Barington Capital’s call for the department store chain to cut spending and reevaluate alternatives for its Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury operations. Workday , Apollo Global Management — Shares of software firm Workday jumped 5% after S & P Dow Jones Indices announced that the stock would be added to the S & P 500 later this month. Apollo Global Management was also announced as a new S & P 500 addition and hit a new 52-week high on Monday, but the stock was down about 2%. Warner Bros. Discovery , Comcast — Warner Bros. shares added 2% after the media company signed a wide-ranging, multiyear cable distribution deal with Comcast, which allows for the European launch of the Max streaming service and resolves a legal dispute over the “Harry Potter” television series rights. Comcast shares fell 9%. Stellantis — Shares of automaker Stellantis edged nearly 2% higher after CNBC reported that well-known executive Tim Kuniskis is returning to the automaker effective immediately to again lead the company’s Ram Trucks brand. The decision comes just about a week after Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares unexpectedly resigned amid the company’s problems with its North American market. Nvidia — Shares slid about 2%. China’s State Administration for Market Regulation launched an investigation into the chipmaker over its potential violations of the country’s antimonopoly law, particularly in relation to Nvidia’s acquisition of Mellanox. Advanced Micro Devices — The chipmaker slid about 4% on the back of a Bank of America downgrade to neutral from buy. The firm cited higher competitive risks in artificial intelligence given Nvidia’s market dominance, and growing preference for custom chips from other chipmakers that could limit AMD’s market share gain potential. Dow — The chemical maker climbed 3% after announcing it would sell a 40% equity holding in some of its U.S. Gulf Coast infrastructure assets to a Macquarie Asset Management-run fund. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2025. Interpublic Group of Companies , Omnicom Group — Interpublic gained 7%, while Omnicom lost more than 8%. Both companies announced that Omnicom will acquire Interpublic in a stock-for-stock transaction . The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2025. Super Micro Computer — Shares of the beleaguered server maker rose about 5% after Super Micro was given an extension from Nasdaq that allows the company to publish its delayed annual report . The company now has until February to maintain its listing on the exchange. SoFi Technologies — Shares dipped almost 2% after Bank of America Global Research downgraded the fintech company and lender to underperform from neutral, saying the stock is overvalued after more than doubling over the past three months. Shares had rallied in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s election victory, as investors figured the company would benefit from more stringent student loan forgiveness policies expected under Trump. SolarEdge Technologies — Shares jumped 16% after the solar energy company announced it has started shipping its “USA Edition” home battery . This product was designed to qualify for the domestic content bonus tax credit , a provision that is part of the Inflation Reduction Act that incentivizes the development of green technology that is built with specified percentages of steel, iron or manufactured products that were domestically produced. Disclosure: Comcast’s NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC. — CNBC’s Alex Harring, Jesse Pound, Sarah Min and Michelle Fox Theobald contributed reporting.
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading: Adobe — The software company tumbled more than 12% after it announced lighter-than-expected revenue estimates for the fiscal first quarter. Adobe guided for revenue between $5.63 billion and $5.68 billion in the fiscal first quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.73 billion, according to LSEG. Warner Bros. Discovery — Shares surged 15% after the legacy media company announced plans to restructure and split its business into linear and streaming segments. Constellation Energy — The energy company advanced 3% following an upgrade to buy from Bank of America, with the firm citing rising demand and tightening supply as catalysts for shares moving forward. Celsius Holdings — The energy drink maker surged 5% after JPMorgan initiated coverage at an overweight rating. JPMorgan said lighter inventory and a reacceleration of growth can help the stock rebound. Hershey — Shares rose 2% even after Wells Fargo downgraded the candy company to underweight from equal weight, saying Hershey is at the “precipice of historic EPS pressure in 2025 and (now) into 2026 … and Street EPS needs to come down substantially.” Beverage stocks — Shares of Coca-Cola , PepsiCo and Keurig Dr Pepper all advanced more than 1% after Deutsche Bank upgraded the beverage companies to buy from neutral. Analyst Steve Powers said he expects accelerating trends in restaurant traffic and stronger impulse purchases next year, which he believes should be a boon for the sector. Oxford Industries — Shares pulled back more than 7% after the apparel and footwear company’s fourth-quarter earnings guidance fell short of estimates. Oxford forecast earnings per share, excluding items, in the current quarter of $1.18 to $1.38 per share. Analysts polled by FactSet were looking for $1.55 in earnings per share. Riot Platforms — Shares jumped nearly 10% after The Wall Street Journal reported activist investor Starboard Value has taken a “significant position” in the bitcoin miner and is pushing for the company to convert some of its bitcoin mining facilities into space for big data-center users. Pure-play miners such as Riot this year have lagged other miners that pivoted to artificial intelligence. While some caught up in the postelection crypto rally, Riot is still down 16% for 2024. Uber Technologies — The ride-share stock rose about 2% on Thursday, clawing back some of its recent losses. Uber Chief Financial Officer Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah said at a Barclays conference late Wednesday that the company feels “very comfortable” with the near-term growth trajectory of its mobility business, according to FactSet. Uber is still down 13% month to date, in part due to concerns about its business as autonomous driving advances. ServiceTitan — Shares of the cloud software company surged more than 40% as ServiceTitan made its debut on the Nasdaq. The initial public offering was priced at $71 per share Wednesday evening, topping the company’s expected range. The stock is trading under the ticker “TTAN.” — CNBC’s Alex Harring, Hakyung Kim, Sarah Min, Jesse Pound and Tanaya Macheel contributed reporting.
“I don’t want to get into a situation where they do and we have a dip or something, because that can always happen,” Trump told CNBC’s Jim Cramer during “Squawk on the Street.”
Trump repeatedly used the stock market as a performance barometer during his first term. In that time, the S&P 500 scaled nearly 68% — reaching all-time highs. Part of that was due to corporate tax cuts passed by the administration at the time. The Federal Reserve also maintained interest rates close to historical lows back then as it tried to spur inflation — also boosting stock prices.
President-elect Donald Trump is greeted by traders, as he walks the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York.
Alex Brandon | AP
He touted at the exchange on Thursday the possibility of lowering taxes again. “We’re gonna do things that haven’t really been done before. We’re gonna cut taxes still further,” he said. “You pay 21% if you don’t build here. If you do, we’re going to try and get it to 15%, but you have to build your product, make your product in the USA.”
Wall Street CEOs and investors such as Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon and Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman came to the NYSE for Trump’s bell-ringing ceremony. Ackman told CNBC later that “most of the country understands that the more successful businesses are, the more the stock market goes up, the more that their wages rise, the more job growth, the more opportunity, the more businesses who come to this country, it lifts all boats.”
To be sure, while Trump refrained from telling investors to buy stocks now, he maintained a bullish outlook longer term.
“I think long term this is going to be a country like no other. We had the three best years ever until Covid came,” he said after being named Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year.”
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell. Constellation Energy — The energy stock added 2% following an upgrade to buy from neutral at Bank of America. Analyst Ross Fowler said that the company was in the best position to benefit from upcoming regulatory clarity coupled with increasing demand and tightening supply. This potential is not currently baked into the company’s price, making shares undervalued, he added. Celsius Holdings — Shares of the energy drink manufacturer rose nearly 4% after JPMorgan initiated coverage of the company with an overweight rating, citing lighter inventory and a reacceleration in U.S. energy drink category growth as catalysts. Uber — Shares of the ridesharing company climbed more than 3%, rebounding from losses earlier in the week. The stock has declined for three straight days, including a 5.8% drop on Wednesday after General Motors halted funding of Cruise. The autonomous driving division had a partnership with Uber. Beverage companies — Deutsche Bank analyst Steve Powers upgraded Coca-Cola , PepsiCo and Keurig Dr Pepper to buy from neutral. Each of the stocks moved up around 1% in premarket trading. The analyst anticipates accelerating trends in restaurant traffic and more impulse purchasing next year, which he believes should benefit the beverage and snacks industry. Adobe — The software giant tumbled 11% after issuing weaker-than-expected revenue guidance for its fiscal first quarter. Adobe anticipates revenues between $5.63 billion and $5.68 billion, versus the LSEG consensus estimate of $5.73 billion. Oxford Industries — Shares of the apparel and footwear retailer declined about 4% after posting third-quarter results that fell short of expectations. The owner of retail brands such as Tommy Bahama reported adjusted losses of 11 cents per share on revenue of $308 million for the period. Analysts polled by FactSet expected it to earn 9 cents per share on $316.8 million in revenue. Chewy — The pet goods retailer’s shares fell about 3% in premarket trading after it announced a public offering of $500 million shares, which are being sold by Buddy Chester Sub. The retailer plans to concurrently purchase $50 million in shares from Buddy Chester. — CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han, Jesse Pound, Yun Li and Michelle Fox contributed reporting.