Stock market today: Stocks are struggling in the post-Christmas period

Volume was light on Thursday as several international markets were closed and many participants extended their holiday fun. Shares started the day in the red but found their way into positive territory by lunchtime. However, enthusiasm waned towards the end, jeopardizing this year’s Santa Claus rally.

The Santa Claus rally is “officially defined as the last five trading days of the year plus the first two trading days of the new year,” it says Adam Turnquistchief technical strategist for LPL Financial. “Since 1950, the S&P 500 has delivered an average and median return of 1.3% over this period, far exceeding the market’s seven-day average return of 0.3%.”

Turnquist adds that if stocks deliver a positive Santa Claus rally return, “the S&P 500 generated an average annual return of 1.4% and 10.4% in January and next year, respectively.”

Subscribe Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

Be a smarter and more informed investor.

Save up to 74%

Sign up for Kiplinger’s free e-newsletter

Profit and prosper with the best expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more – straight to your email.

Benefit and thrive with the best expert advice – straight to your email.

After close higher at the shortened meeting on Tuesday, Dow Jones Industrial Average ended today up 0.07% at 43,325 while the S&P 500 was 0.04% lower at 6,037, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.05% to 20,020.

Investors should not worry about short-term volatility

“The recent volatility appears to be a combination of a more cautious Fed rate cut than hoped and the Trump administration’s hard-to-predict, bold changes proposed that, while bullish in theory, could be costly in the near term,” said Louis Navellier, chairman and founder of Navellier & Associates.

Despite all the short-term difficulties, Navellier reminds us that “we have had two very strong years in the stock market” and that artificial intelligence (AI) promises great productivity gains going forward Interest rates are likely to fall further. “Even without the Santa Claus Rally, there is a lot to celebrate and look forward to,” he says.

Continuing claims reached their highest level in three years

The number of initial applications for unemployment benefits was relatively low Economic calendar. Data from the Ministry of Labor showed initial filings fell by 1,000 to 219,000 in the week ending December 21. More notably, ongoing claims rose to 1.91 million from 1.86 million the week before – the highest level since November 2021.

“At the moment the consumer has a healthy appetite for travel and other consumer goods, but continued rising demands point to a slowdown in the labor market,” he says Jeffrey RoachChief Economist at LPL Financial.

Analysts think Palantir could fall 45%

In individual stock news Palantir Technologies (PLTR) fell 0.3% even according to Wedbush analysts Daniel Ives said the data analytics company is one of the top software companies to benefit from AI in 2025.

“We believe Palantir has a credible path to becoming the next Oracle (ORCL) in the coming decade, with (the artificial intelligence platform) leading the way as many on the Street remain major skeptics of the Messi of AI “says the analyst.

Ives is arguably one of the biggest bulls in Palantir’s corner, with an Outperform (Buy) rating and a $75 price target – although that’s still 8% below the share price. The consensus recommendation of the 21 analysts follows this newest Nasdaq 100 stock According to a survey by S&P Global Market Intelligence, the stock is “Hold” and the average price target is $43.90 – a discount of more than 45% to current levels.

Analyst at UBS Global Research Karl Keirstead recently initiated coverage on Palantir with a Neutral (Hold) rating. He had a “very positive” assessment of PLTR’s fundamentals, with customers and other checks “almost all optimistic” about the value they will receive. “The biggest thing keeping us on the sidelines is valuation,” Keirstead says after the stock has risen nearly five-fold this year, adding that this is “just hard to get over.”