Yiwen Lu10/18/24

US stocks set record and notch sixth winning week; oil slumps

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% on Friday, finishing the week at another record. It rose 0.9% this week, logging its sixth straight week of gains. The Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.7% on the day and 0.3% on the week. Still, the Russell 2000 lost 0.2%, logging its second session of losses, but the small cap-focused index still managed to score a 1.9% weekly gain.

The S&P 500 energy sector ETF was down 0.3% and fell 2.7% overall this week, making it the biggest laggard among all major sectors.

Meanwhile, crude oil futures posted their biggest weekly losses in almost a year. The US benchmark WTI crude was down 8.4% this week, while the global benchmark Brent crude fell 7.6%. This marked the commodity’s first weekly loss after two consecutive weeks of gains for crude oil on the rising tension in the Middle East. But reports this week that Israel would not attack Iran’s oil facilities eased concerns over geopolitical risks. In addition, signs of slowing demand for crude oil from China continued to weigh on prices.

All other sectors gained. Communication services added 0.7%, thanks to Netflix, which delivered its best profit ever on Thursday. The stock was the best S&P 500 performer of the day, up 11.1%.

In other individual stock news, Lamb Weston jumped 10.2% after the Wall Street Journal reported that activist investor Jana Partners had acquired a stake in the struggling french-fry producer, with the possibility of pushing the company to explore a sale. CVS lost 5.2% after the company announced leadership changes and cut profit forecasts.

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Tasha Matsumoto

The S&P 500 closes at a new record high on below-average volume

Shares of Big Tech climbed higher, lifting the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100.

CHICAGO, IL - DECEMBER 21: Chicago Bulls mascot "Benny" dunks a ball dressed as Santa Claus during a break in a game between the Bulls and the Philadelphia 76ers at the United Center on December 21, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois

markets

Trump administration says tariffs on Chinese semiconductor imports are coming... in 2027

After a year-long investigation into China’s tactics to bolster its domestic semiconductor industry, the US has determined that its practices are “unreasonable” and is going to do something about that in 18 months.

The Trump administration’s office of the US trade representative said today that it plans to impose tariffs on imports of Chinese semiconductors at a rate higher than 0% to be decided at least 30 days before June 23, 2027.

“China’s pursuit of its dominance goals has severely disadvantaged US companies, workers, and the U.S. economy generally through lessened competition and commercial opportunities and through the creation of economic security risks from dependencies and vulnerabilities,” per the USTR’s notice of action.

These levies, should they come to pass, would apply to silicon, diodes, transistors, and more.

US markets were completely unbothered by this revelation, likely because there is no immediate action against Chinese semi companies and therefore no disruption to business-as-usual. This represents a punting of a contentious matter, similar to how China delayed restrictions on rare earth shipments as part of a deal between Presidents Trump and Xi following their October meeting.

It’s another sign of a thaw in the US-China relations over the hot-button issue of semiconductors after President Trump gave Nvidia the go-ahead to sell its H200 chips to buyers in the world’s second-largest economy.

markets

ServiceNow strikes deal to buy cybersecurity firm Armis for $7.75 billion in cash

ServiceNow has agreed to acquire cybersecurity startup Armis for $7.75 billion in an all-cash deal, the largest purchase in the company's history.

That price tag is $750 million above what Bloomberg suggested was the top end of what Armis would cost just last week, and about $1.65 billion above what the company had been valued at in a November funding round.

Armis had been readying itself for an IPO, with many major investors looking to take a stake in the firm.

Instead, it’s now a key cog in the software platform company’s bid to lean on cybersecurity features to bolster its appeal to customers in a world in which the rise of AI adds to the potential threats of business disruptions and data breaches.

Per the press release:

As rapid AI adoption expands the attack surface for organizations, real-time visibility into vulnerabilities and actionable insights for what to fix first are critical to minimize risk and strengthen security posture. The acquisition of Armis will extend and enhance ServiceNow’s Security, Risk, and OT portfolios in critical and fast-growing areas of cybersecurity and drive increased AI adoption by strengthening trust across businesses’ connected environments.

markets

Claire Yubin Oh11h

Novo Nordisk rallies after FDA weight loss pill approval

Novo Nordisk’s US-listed shares are up 7% in pre-market trading on Tuesday after the US Food and Drug Administration approved its Wegovy weight loss pill on Monday evening.

Now the first pill of its kind to receive approval from the regulator, Novo’s Wegovy pill is expected to launch in the US in early January 2026, and awaits the European Medicines Agency and other regulatory authorities’ approval after submitting for review in the second half of 2025, per the company’s press release. The 1.5 milligram starting dose of the pill will be sold at an introductory price of $149 a month.

“The pill is here. With today's approval of the Wegovy^® pill, patients will have a convenient, once-daily pill that can help them lose as much weight as the original Wegovy^® injection,” said Mike Doustdar, president and CEO of Novo Nordisk.

The approval was based on Novo’s Oasis 4 trial, which found participants who took 25 milligram doses of Wegovy pills daily lost 16.6% of their body weight over a 64 week period.

The approval will give Novo — which lost more than 50% of its market cap this year after Eli Lilly took the crown in weekly US prescriptions for injectable weight-loss drugs with its product Zepbound — a first-mover advantage in the expanding market. Lilly, which is down some 1% in pre-market trading today, has said its own oral drug orforglipron could be approved by March 2026.

Tasha Matsumoto

Stocks rise for the third-consecutive session, erasing December losses

Santa baby, just slip a rally under the tree...

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - DECEMBER 23: Benny the Bull, the Chicago Bulls mascot, dresses as Santa Claus in the game against the Milwaukee Bucks during the second half at the United Center on December 23, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois.

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