Trending stocks this week as Wall Street sells off amid Fed remarks
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Matteo Colombo
U.S. equity market futures were down for the week, while the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hit its highest level in 5-1/2 months on Friday, as traders assessed Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s hawkish comments.
The Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND), S&P 500 (SP500) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) closed -3.3%, -1.3% and 2.3%, respectively, marking their worst sessions since October 31 when a tech-driven selloff dragged the indexes down.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Thursday the central bank did not need to rush to lower interest rates due to ongoing economic growth, a solid job market and inflation that remains above its 2% target.
Bitcoin USD (BTC-USD), meanwhile, jumped 12% for the week, hitting an all-time high above 93K, with investors betting that the incoming Trump administration will be friendly to cryptocurrencies.
As markets tumbled and earnings season wrapped up, here’s what caught our attention this week:
Tesla (TSLA US) and Roivant (ROIV US) rallied after President-elect Donald Trump picked billionaire Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new department that will aim to make the government more efficient. The newly created “Department of Government Efficiency” is aimed at slashing excess regulations, dismantling bureaucracy, and restructuring some federal agencies. However, TSLA was down 7.3% for the week, while ROIV fell 5%.
AbbVie (ABBV) shares dipped after the drugmaker said two mid-stage trials of its investigative treatment for adults with schizophrenia missed their primary endpoints.
Space-launch company Rocket Lab USA (RKLB) shares rose 30% after providing a 4Q revenue forecast that beat estimates, fueled by more Electron launches scheduled in November and December.
Monolithic Power (MPWR) shares tumbled 8.2% as investment firm Edgewater Research said its allocation to Nvidia’s (NVDA) Blackwell line of GPUs is “at risk.” The company later confirmed it has no performance issues with its products and that it is still in Nvidia’s (NVDA) next-generation systems.
Rivian Automotive (RIVN) shares surged after formally announcing a deal with Volkswagen Group (OTCPK:VLKAF) (OTCPK:VWAGY) to form a new joint venture. Through the $5.8B JV, the automakers plan to bring next-generation electrical architecture and best-in-class software technology for their future electric vehicles.
Shoals Technologies (SHLS) fell 18.5% after the maker of parts for solar energy reported third quarter adjusted earnings per share and adjusted EBITDA that missed the average analyst estimate.
EV makers Rivian Automotive (RIVN) -5.6%, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) -7.3%, and Lucid Group (LCID) -11% were in red after a report that President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is planning to push ahead with a plan to kill the $7,500 consumer tax credit for electric vehicle purchases. Earlier this year, CEO Elon Musk said eliminating the subsidy might slightly hurt Tesla sales, but would devastate the Austin-based company’s U.S. EV competitors.
Shares of Hims & Hers Health (HIMS) plunged 22% after Amazon said it is launching a competing telehealth offering for its Prime members.
Capri Holdings (CPRI) and Coach parent Tapestry (TPR) have mutually agreed to end their $8.5B merger deal. The deal hit a regulatory roadblock after a U.S. district judge granted the FTC’s motion for a preliminary injunction, citing anticompetitive concerns. The FTC, which sued to block the merger in April, argued that combining Coach, Kate Spade, and Michael Kors would stifle competition in the “accessible luxury” market. Tapestry (TPR) shares gained after the news, ending the week 9% high.
Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) gained 16% over the week after its better-than-expected quarterly report, headlined by the company’s success in its Entertainment unit. FQ4 marked one of the best quarters ever for Disney’s film studio, buoyed by the success of Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine.
Micron Technology (MU) and Western Digital (WDC) fell 13% and 10% respectively for the week after Edgewater Research trimmed its price forecasts for NAND and dynamic random access memory. The firm sees Micron’s outlook softening further in the first half of 2025.
Palantir Technologies (PLTR) gained 9.4% after it announced transfer of listing to Nasdaq from NYSE, effective Nov. 26.
Shares of Spirit Airlines (SAVE) plummeted 61% as the carrier moved closer to bankruptcy after Frontier Group (ULCC) reportedly withdrew its acquisition bid.
Super Micro Computer (SMCI) plunged below its 52-week low range on Thursday, a day after the company delayed its 10-Q filing. The embattled artificial intelligence server maker said on Wednesday it will be unable to file its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended Sept. 30 and needs additional time to select and engage a new accounting firm and to prepare the Q1 2025 Form 10-Q.
Shares of several of the world’s largest vaccine makers fell significantly Friday, the day after President-elect Donald Trump announced he had selected vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Pfizer (PFE) -7.4%, AstraZeneca (AZN) -3%, GSK (GSK) -8.9%, Merck (MRK) -6.2% and Moderna (MRNA) -21.4% were some of the major decliners.
More on this week’s trending stocks: