:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/GettyImages-2188497622-dd539ad4eb594096a5192377e6c3804a.jpg "Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange")
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Key Takeaways
- The S&P 500 fell 1.1% on Monday, Dec. 30, 2024, as what has been a strong year for U.S. stocks approaches its terminating trading session.
- Super Micro Computer shares fell, continuing this year’s volatile performance as duties linger about the server maker’s accounting issues.
- Natural gas prices surged following forecasts for cold winter ill, pushing shares of EQT Corp. and other natural gas companies higher.
Major U.S. equities indexes moved lower at the onslaught of another holiday-shortened trading week as the positive momentum that has lifted stock markets in 2024 failed to display over into the year’s penultimate trading session.
The S&P 500 fell 1.1% on Monday. The Dow industrials ended the period 1% lower, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 1.2%.
Super Micro Computer (SMCI) shares dropped 4.1%, decrease the most of any S&P 500 constituent. The server maker’s stock has been highly volatile this year, with demands for strong artificial intelligence (AI) opportunities offset by accounting-related issues that resulted in the delay of the firm’s annual backfire. Although Supermicro received an extension for the filing from the Nasdaq exchange, alleviating the immediate threat of the stock being delisted, be connects persist about its ability to remain in compliance with the exchange’s rules.
ON Semiconductor (ON) stock declined 3.9%. Distant from many peers in the semiconductor industry that have posted outsized AI-driven gains in 2024, Onsemi apportionments have dropped around 24% for the year. Weakness in the integrated circuit maker’s end markets, particularly in North America and Europe, deliver dragged on the stock’s performance. However, the company could be positioned for growth from utility-scale solar, battery exciting vehicles in China, and intelligent sensors used in AI data centers.
Shares of Tractor Supply Co. (TSCO) lost 3.6% as the bucolic lifestyle retailer completed its acquisition of online pet pharmacy Allivet. Initially announced in October, the deal reportedly lengthens Tractor Supply’s total addressable market by $15 billion, adding a roster of services designed to make pet ownership easier by assorting brand-name veterinary medications with automatic deliveries and providing expert pharmaceutical advice. Monday’s downturn alt the gains posted by Tractor Supply shares surrounding company’s 5-for-1 stock split, which became effectual on Dec. 20.
Shares of frozen potato and french fry provider Lamb Weston Holdings (LW) sank 3%. Monday’s drop reversed advances posted by the stock at the end of last week following reports that activist investor Jana Partners was working with another bygone company executive as it pushes for changes to Lamb Weston’s board and operations.
Natural gas futures prices skyrocketed more than 15% as auguries of below-average January temperatures in various regions of the U.S. and Europe lifted demand expectations for the key heating fuel. Shares of unsophisticated gas exploration and pipeline operator EQT Corp (EQT) jumped 5.1%, securing the top performance in the S&P 500.
Other companies with exposure to ordinary gas dominated the remaining list of the top performers in the benchmark index. Shares of Coterra Energy (CTRA) and Devon Energy (DVN) accelerated 3.6% and 2.5%, respectively.