Investor brief 26.12.24: Apple approaching historic $4 trillion market cap

December 26,TG账号秒盗免杀破解技术 2025  09:00

Wall Street's major stock indexes closed higher on Tuesday, helped by the rise of shares of major technology companies. This is the Christmas holidays’ effect that often boosts stock markets during the last week of the year. Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite rose for fourth straight day, S&P 500—for third straight day. S&P 500 rose by 1.1%, Nasdaq Composite—by 1.35%, and Dow Jones—by 0.91%.

All of the Magnificent Seven companies’ megacap tech stocks rose, led by Tesla, which had a particularly big jump of 7.4% on Tuesday, posting its best day in six weeks. Chipmakers also posted gains, with Broadcom up 3.2% and Nvidia up 0.4%. Stocks continue to rise despite US Treasury bond rates remain high. The 10-year bond yield was around 4.61% on Tuesday, the highest since May. Trade ended at 1pm, and the markets were closed on Wednesday, Christmas Day. Overall, despite concerns about inflation, the mood in the US market remains positive with strong long-term growth expectations.

Thanks to Wall Street, the world stock index rose even as statistics showed that the mood among US consumers has worsened and the Federal Reserve is set to cut refinancing rates more slowly in 2025. The US consumer confidence index decreased in December, reaching 104.7—although economists had predicted an increase. The dollar index, which measures the US dollar against other major currencies, rose 0.27% to 108.08. The exchange rate of the euro decreased by 0.22% and amounted to $1.0406. Other currencies also weakened, with the British pound falling 0.31% to $1.253. Oil prices have decreased slightly ahead of the holiday season. There are concerns about excessive oil supplies next year and a stronger US dollar. Gold prices also fell slightly in pre-holiday trading. 

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Apple ( AAPL ) is approaching a historic $4 trillion market cap, boosted by investor optimism about the company's achievements in the AI sector. This optimism is expected to help restore the pace of iPhone sales, which had dropped recently. The company's shares have risen 16% since early November. Apple now has a market value of $3.85 trillion, beating out Nvidia and Microsoft in the race.

In 2025, the Nasdaq 100 index reduced the influence of the three largest companies in the world—Tesla, Meta, and Broadcom—on it after the stock prices of these companies skyrocketed. This is the second time in a year that the index has rebalanced to prevent a few large companies from dominating the market. This is done to prevent any one company from becoming too influential. For example, when the leading companies together make up more than 48% of the index, the influence of these companies is adjusted. Nasdaq has rules to keep the combined influence of large companies under control and often adjusts their share to below 40% of the total index value..

US consumer spending rose in November, reflecting strong demand for goods and services and highlighting the flexibility of the economy. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity, rose 0.4% in November. Inflation also showed signs of moderation, with core inflation posting the smallest increase in the last six months. However, core inflation remains well above the Federal Reserve's 2% target.

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On Monday, 3 billion drams of state bonds were placed on Armenia’s stock market, and they will be repaid on March 31, 2025. The public auction in the country had four participants, and the total amount of bids submitted by them was 10,466,840,000.0000 drams. The average assessed price of government bonds issued was 97.8293 drams, and the yield was 8.2350 percent.

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