The Daily Breakdown looks at the markets as start 2025. Bitcoin looks to break out over resistance in an attempt to renew bullish momentum.
Thursday’s TLDR
- Stocks end year on a losing skid
- Bitcoin clears resistance
- Best stocks in the S&P 500 & Dow
What’s happening?
The S&P 500 and Dow have fallen three days in a row, while the Nasdaq 100 has dropped four sessions in a row. For a year that ended so well — with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq higher by 24% and 27%, respectively — this was not the finish many had expected.
Still, markets had a great 2024. Along with the gain in stocks, Bitcoin rallied about 120% on the year, while gold climbed roughly 27%.
As we turn our attention to 2025, investors are looking for stocks to snap their current losing streak. We should see some notable fund flows into equities in the first few days of the new year, as investors and fund managers put fresh money to work.
Perhaps that will help give a boost to trading volumes, in what is otherwise a pretty quiet week when it comes to earnings and economic reports.
Enjoy what 2024 brought you — be it profits or lessons (or both) — and let’s focus on the new year!
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The setup — Bitcoin
Bears say that the uptrend in Bitcoin has been broken. Bulls argue that it’s just consolidation after BTC ran from sub-$70,000 in early November to $108,000 in December.
Support has shown up in the low $90,000s, with each dip to this area being bought over the last two months. Now Bitcoin is clearing downtrend resistance:
If Bitcoin can regain its 21-day and 50-day moving averages, then it could garner even more momentum, potentially putting the key $100,000 figure back in focus. A move above that level will likely heat up discussions of whether it can make new highs.
On the flip side, if Bitcoin moves lower, bulls will want to see support again come into play in the low $90,000s. Below that area and the bearish momentum could accelerate.
What Wall Street is watching
PLTR – Palantir was the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 last year. It should be mentioned that Palantir didn’t start the year in the S&P 500, but was added in September. Shares rose more than 340% last year, with the firm ending 2024 with a market cap of $172.3 billion.
NVDA – With its gain of 171% last year, Nvidia was the top-performing stock in the Dow. Like Palantir, Nvidia did not start the year in the Dow. Instead, it was added in November, replacing Intel, which fell over 60% last year.
Disclaimer:
Please note that due to market volatility, some of the prices may have already been reached and scenarios played out.
