Early Look

Monday, December 2, 2024

U.S. stock futures kick off December little changed, ticking slightly lower after big gains last week and for November. For last week, the S&P 500 gained 1.06%, the Nasdaq climbed 1.13%, and the Dow climbed 1.4%. Meanwhile November saw a massive rally after October declines as the Russell 2000 gained +11.2%, the S&P 500 +5.74%, the Down +7.55% and the Nasdaq gained +6.21% extending YTD advances as market sentiment remains high into the New Year and fear nonexistent for months as the VIX remains weak. Attention remains on retailers into the holiday shopping season, as consumers spent $10.8B on Black Friday, a 10.2% jump from the previous year, according to data from Adobe. In total, $107.3B was spent in November and the 2024 holiday season is on track to be a record, with shoppers projected to splash $241B online, Adobe added. Cyber Monday is expected to be the season’s biggest shopping day, with a record $13.2B estimated spend, as per Adobe. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index gained 304 points to 38,513, the Shanghai Index rose 37 points to 3,363, and the Hang Seng Index rallied 126 points to 19,550. In Europe, attention remains on France after their far-right National Rally said they will force the collapse of Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s government unless in a “last minute miracle” he yields to their demands on the budget, its president Jordan Bardella said. The RN had given Barnier until Monday to yield to its demands – including pension hikes – or face it backing a no-confidence motion which would lead to the government’s collapse. As the political crisis worsened, investors punished stocks and bonds and sold the euro on Monday, with French borrowing costs rising above those of Greece for the first time on record. The Cac 40 is down -24 points to 7,210, the German DAX is up 160 points to 19,786, while the FTSE 100 is up 11 points to 8,300. Treasury yields edge higher along with the dollar, while gold slips and Bitcoin drops -2,000 to $95,000.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 188.59 points, or 0.42%, to 44,910.65.
• The Nasdaq Composite gained 157.68 points, or 0.83%, to 19,218.17.
• The Russell 2000 Index advanced 8.53 points, or 0.35% to 2,434.73.

• 4:30 PM ET                          Fed’s Williams Gives Keynote Remarks

• Earnings After the Close: CRDO ZS

• Goldman Sachs 16th Annual Industrials & Autos Week, 12/2-12/5, in London
• JMP Securities Hematology & Oncology Summit will take place 12/2 (virtual)
• Seaport Global Macau Global Gaming tour, 12/2-12/6, in Macau China
• UBS Global technology Conference, 12/2-12/5, in Scottsdale, AZ

• President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday threatened 100% tariffs against a bloc of nine nations if they act to undermine the U.S. dollar. His threat was directed at countries in the so-called BRIC alliance, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
• President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, on Sunday night, ahead of a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions after having previously said he would not pardon his son or commute his sentence after convictions in the two cases in Delaware and California.

• Gap (GAP) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan following a meeting with the company’s CEO Richard Dickson and CFO Katrina O’Connell.
• Li Auto Inc. (LI) said that it delivered 48,740 vehicles in November 2024, up 18.8% y/y. As of November 30, 2024, Li Auto had delivered a total of 441,995 vehicles in 2024, with cumulative deliveries reaching 1,075,359.
• NIO Inc. (NIO) said it delivered 20,575 vehicles in November 2024, representing an increase of 28.9% y/y; deliveries consisted of 15,493 vehicles from the Company’s premium smart electric vehicle brand NIO, and 5,082 vehicles from the Company’s family-oriented smart electric vehicle brand ONVO.
• Stellantis (STLA) CEO Carlos Tavares resigned Sunday, after nearly four years of leading the company saying the board had accepted the resignation, effective immediately. Stellantis said its search for a new CEO is underway and will be concluded in the first half of 2025.
• XPeng Inc. (XPEV) said it delivered 30,895 Smart EVs in November 2024, representing growth of 54% y/y and 29% m/m; deliveries of XPENG MONA M03 exceeded 10,000 units for the third consecutive month since its launch. After 23 days of launch, deliveries of XPENG P7+ exceeded 7,000 units.

• IREN Limited (IREN) announced it has increased its installed self-mining capacity by 33% to 28 EH/s. IREN has increased its installed capacity from 21 EH/s to 28 EH/s (15 J/TH efficiency) following the energization of its Childress Phase 3 substation.
• LendingClub (LC) was downgraded to neutral from overweight at JPMorgan, urging caution on the fintech sector following a recent rally.
• Mara Holdings (MARA) announces proposed private offering of $700M of zero-coupon convertible senior notes.
• Toast (TOST) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs, cutting the restaurant software company citing an elevated valuation and limited visibility following a recent rally.
• Upstart Holdings (UPST) was downgraded to underweight from neutral at JP Morgan.

• Nevro (NVRO) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley
• Tandem Diabetes (TNDM) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

• SentinelOne (S) downgraded to equal weight from overweight at Morgan Stanley, cautioning to tread more carefully on cybersecurity stocks, given pressure on budgets at private companies as well as in the public sector.
• The U.S. will launch on Monday its third crackdown in three years on China’s semiconductor industry, curbing exports to 140 companies including chip equipment maker Naura Technology Group, among other moves, said two people familiar with the matter (watch shares of AMAT, LRCX, KLAC).