Trending stocks in bearish pre-holiday week for U.S. stock market

Wall Street had a fairly bearish week, weighed down by comments from Fed chair Jerome Powell. The benchmark S&P 500 (SP500) had its worst week in over a month, slipping -2.3% in the week.

Other big indices were in red too, including the Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND) -2.3%, Dow Jones (DJI) -2.3% and Russell 2000 Index (RTY) -4.8%.

Some favorable inflation data on Friday gave a late boost to the market, but not enough to offset the negative sentiment during the rest of the week, which was in reaction to the Fed forecasting a slower pace of interest rate cuts, primarily due to inflation. Powell said policymakers’ year-end projection for inflation had “fallen apart” into the end of 2024.

Nike (NKE) was in the news this week for its better-than-expected fiscal second quarter earnings report and ambitious turnaround plan under new CEO Elliot Hill. The plan will see Nike rely on its digital channel, refocus on premium pricing and clear out old stock, but analysts warn that it will “get worse before it gets better.”

Micron Technology (MU) fell nearly -15% this week after a reporting a greater-than-expected revenue decline in NAND flash memory for its fiscal first quarter, leading to a rating downgrade and multiple price target cuts by analysts.

FedEx (FDX) shook up the market with the announcement of the spinoff of its freight trucking business to focus on core operations. FedEx Freight will retain its name and commercial collaboration with FedEx, and the company expects this move to unlock value potential as it creates the largest pure-play public North American less-than-truckload carrier.

Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) surged nearly +35% this week after its experimental antibody therapy with Sanofi (SNY) reported positive results in a Phase 3 trial for inflammatory bowel diseases. Teva’s medical chief said the results for duvakitug “exceeded our expectations”, while Sanofi believes the drug candidate could be a “differentiated medicine for IBD patients.”

Quantum Computing (QUBT) and related stocks rallied this week, driven by the former winning a contract from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and enthusiasm around the emerging tech. Shares of Quantum Computing (QUBT) surged nearly +150% this week and over +1,800% since the start of 2024, and the company is now valued at more than $2.8B. Other quantum stocks that made gains this week were D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) +25%, Arqit Quantum (ARQQ) +28%, IonQ (IONQ) +37% and Rigetti Computing (RGTI) +29%.

Novo Nordisk (NVO) shares dropped over -22% this week and hit a 52-week low on Friday after it released Phase 3 results for its next-gen weight loss therapy, CagriSema. The candidate met its primary goal, but the data was met with caution by investors in an increasingly competitive market. The once-weekly injectable caused only up to ~20% weight loss over 68 weeks, which fell short of the Danish drugmaker’s own guidance of 25% and also the ~23% achieved by Eli Lilly’s (LLY) FDA-approved Zepbound (tirzepatide).

Vertex (VRTX) fell nearly -15% during the five-day trading period, weighed down by a downgrade by Oppenheimer over mixed Phase 2 data and an “uncertain benefit/risk profile” for its drug candidate for lumbosacral radiculopathy, or LSR. Suzetrigine met the primary endpoint in a mid-stage study and achieved clinically meaningful reduction in pain, but the company also noted that a placebo arm showed a similar reduction in pain scores.

Carnival (CCL) had a good week after reporting full year 2024 revenues that hit an all-time high and profits swelled by 2500% from a loss of $0.06 in 2023, underscoring the cruise sector’s recovery since COVID-19. CEO Josh Weinstein attributed the year’s performance to a strong demand environment, higher ticket prices, higher onboard spending, and improved cost management.

Lucid Group (LCID), SoundHound AI (SOUN), Palantir Technologies (PLTR) Tesla (TSLA) and Nvidia (NVDA) were also among the most actively traded stocks this week.