• Stocks were rejuvenated. In a shortened trading day on Tuesday, stocks surged for a Santa Claus rally ahead of Christmas Day. The benchmark S&P 500 finished the session up over 1.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose roughly 1.4%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed around 0.9%. Markets will be closed on Wednesday December 25th for the Christmas Day celebration.
• NYSE short interest is higher this month. Short interest on the New York Stock Exchange rose 2.4 percent in mid-December, the exchange said on Tuesday.
• Nvidia helped lead in gains. The chipmaker ticked up again Tuesday after a 3.5% gain on Monday. The stock moved roughly 180% higher in 2024. 
• Inflation remains a big concern heading into 2025. President-elect Donald Trump's proposed policies including high tariffs on imported goods may be potentially inflationary next year.
• Spotify is a big winner in 2024. At the end of 2022, Spotify stock was trading below $80 a share. In 2024, shares are trading at just under $500. The audio company is also on track to hit full-year profitability for the first time ever.
• U.S. Steel Corp. heads higher. Despite Pesident Biden being set to decide the fate of Japanese-owned Nippon Steel's $15 billion bid for US Steel, shares of the company closed up nearly 1% on Tuesday.
• Bitcoin gains 5%. While pulled back from its high of over $100,000, the leading cryptocurrency rose over 5% to trade above $98,000 a coin. 
• American Airlines hit a problem ahead of Christmas. American Airlines briefly grounded all flights nationwide due to a technical issue earlier this morning, but the FAA lifted the ground stop at around 8 a.m. ET. 

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"We expect a gradual deceleration from where we are, but to levels that are still uncomfortably high for the Fed."

-Deutsche Bank chief economist Matthew Luzzetti on inflation

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Most Active Stocks

• Nvidia (NVDA)
• Rigetti Computing (RGTI)
• Avinger (AVGR)
• Archer Aviation (ACHR)
• Apple (AAPL)
• Lucid Group (LCID)
• Pony AI (PONY)
• Kingsoft Cloud Holdings (KC)
• Symbotic (SYM)
• Palantir Technologies (PLTR)

In the Spotlight 

FDA Raises Recall Alert on Costco Eggs to Highest Level

The FDA has raised its alert on recalled eggs sold from Costco stores over possible salmonella exposure, reclassifying the targeted product to their highest risk level. The FDA had previously announced on Nov. 27 that about 10,800 retail units of organic, pasture-raised, 24-count eggs, sold under Costco’s Kirkland Signature brand, were being recalled by New York-Handsome Book Farms. 

Big Banks are Suing the Federal Reserve

A group of banks and business groups are suing the Federal Reserve over the annual bank stress tests. The banks and business groups claim that current process falls short of its goals. The suit, from the Bank Policy Institute, represents big banks like JPMorgan, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, as well as the American Bankers Association, the Ohio Bankers League, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.