U.S. stocks experienced slight fluctuations, with light trading ahead of the Christmas holiday break. As of the latest update, the Dow Jones rose slightly by 0.1%, the Nasdaq Composite climbed nearly 0.6%, the S&P 500 increased by 0.4%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index went up by 0.4%. The S&P 500 futures showed modest gains, with projections pointing towards a strong annual performance and consistent growth above 20% since 2023. Conversely, European stocks lagged due to economic challenges in France and Germany. The STOXX 600 index has fallen over 4% since its high in September 2022.
In specific stocks, American Airlines (AAL) saw a temporary drop due to a technical issue but recovered after resuming flights. Starbucks (SBUX) faces a significant employee strike, affecting over 300 locations. Apple's (AAPL, Financial) stock rose 0.6%, with anticipation high for its AI-enhanced features to boost iPhone sales, pushing its market cap towards $4 trillion.
