Stock market today: World shares retreat as 2024 trading draws to a close

[December 30, 2024]  By The Associated Press

Global shares retreated Monday in thin trading as the year was drawing to a close without the euphoria that pushed many world markets to record highs in 2024.

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index ended 1% lower, at 39,894.54. The last trading session of the year ended on a somber note with the Japan Exchange Group's CEO Hiromi Yamaji apologizing during the traditional yearend ceremony over a recent insider trading case.

“I acknowledge trust towards the market is essential for investors to trade with confidence," Yamaji said. The exchange is working to improve training and verify findings of an independent investigation, he said, adding that “we are doing are our utmost best to rebuild trust and prevent this from happening again.”

In early European trading, Germany’s DAX lost 0.4% to 19,896.66, and the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.4% at 7,328.22. Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.4% to 8,119.74.

The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were both 0.3% lower.

South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.2% to 2,399.49 and shares of Jeju Air Co. lost 8.7% after one of the company’s jets skidded off a runway, slammed into a concrete wall and burst into flames on Sunday. Authorities were investigating why the aircraft's landing gear failed to deploy, killing 179 of the 181 people aboard.

The disaster was yet another blow for Boeing in a dispiriting year, following a machinists strike, further safety problems with its troubled top-selling aircraft and a plunging stock price.

Law enforcement officials in South Korea requested a court warrant Monday to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol. They are investigating whether his martial law decree on Dec. 3 amounted to rebellion.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.2% at 20,041.42 while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.2% to 3,407.33. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.3% to 8,235.00.

Hiromi Yamaji, CEO of Japan Exchange Group (JPX) delivers a speech at the end of a ceremony to conclude the year's trading at the Tokyo Stock Exchange Monday, Dec. 30, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

On Friday, the S&P 500 fell 1.1%. Roughly 90% of stocks in the benchmark index lost ground, but it managed to hold onto a modest gain of 0.7% for the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 1.5%.

The losses were worsened by sharp declines for Big Tech stocks known as the “Magnificent 7”, which can heavily influence the direction of the market because of their large size.

Despite Friday's drop, the market is moving closer to another standout annual finish. The S&P 500 is on track for a gain of around 25% in 2024. That would mark a second consecutive yearly gain of more than 20%, the first time that has happened since 1997-1998.

The gains have been driven partly by upbeat economic data showing that consumers continued spending and the labor market remained strong. Inflation, while still high, has also been steadily easing.

A report on Friday showed that sales and inventory estimates for the wholesales trade industry fell 0.2% in November, following a slight gain in October. That weaker-than-expected report follows an update on the labor market Thursday that showed unemployment benefits held steady last week.

The stream of upbeat economic data and easing inflation helped prompt a reversal in the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy this year. Expectations for interest rate cuts also helped drive market gains. The central bank recently delivered its third cut to interest rates in 2024.

In other dealings early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 31 cents to $70.29 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 32 cents to $73.47 per barrel.

The euro fell to $1.0418 from $1.0427.

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