Stocks started Monday on a strong note, but the enthusiasm waned as the session wore on. Still, two of the three main benchmarks added to their year-to-date gains thanks to a big rally in the technology sector. Meanwhile, Walt Disney's (DIS) latest venture created plenty of tailwinds for communication services stocks.
While DIS stock slipped 0.1% following news the media and entertainment giant will merge its Hulu + Live TV business with fuboTV (FUBO), FUBO shares more than tripled. The merger will creat a combined streaming business that will trade under the FUBO ticker on the New York Stock Exchange. Disney will retain a 70% stake in the new business, with FUBO shareholders owning the rest.
The deal will also end a legal dispute initiated by Fubo to block the formation of Venu Sports, a sports-focused streaming venture between Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD, +2.5%) and Fox (FOX, +0.8%). This lifted shares of WBD and FOX.
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CFRA Research analyst Kenneth Leon recently upgraded Disney to Hold from Buy, saying he is "confident" the company's direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming unit and Experiences (theme parks and cruise lines) segment will strengthen this year.
"Experience offers durable, recurring revenue streams to generate operating and free cash flow, even though leisure spending is sensitive to the economy," Leon wrote in a December 26 note. "In our view, DTC has turned the corner to profitable growth with healthy subscriber growth. Sports are a core franchise for live entertainment that needs advertising sponsors to offset sports rights."
Nvidia gains $122 billion in market value
While Disney was one of several Dow Jones stock to finish lower on Monday, Nvidia (NVDA) jumped 3.4% to gain $122 billion in market value amid a broader rally in semiconductor stocks. Micron Technology (MU, +10.5%), Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM, +5.5%) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD, +3.3%) were also notable gainers today.
The rally comes ahead of CES 2025, which kicks off tomorrow and runs through the end of the week. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is scheduled to take the stage later today to give his outlook on artificial intelligence (AI).
"AI will likely be a key theme at the conference, with companies highlighting plans to integrate augmented capabilities across a broadening set of consumer and edge products," says BofA Securities analyst Vivek Arya. He'll also be looking for "color on the recovery timeline for automotive and industrial semiconductor end markets," as well as new growth opportunities in electric and self-driving vehicles.
At the close, the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.2% at 19,864, the S&P 500 was 0.6% higher at 5,975, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average had slipped 0.06% to 42,706.
As a reminder, the stock market will be closed on Thursday, January 9, in observance of a national day of mourning and state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter. The bond market will close at 2 pm Eastern Standard Time.
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