The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 index and Nasdaq composite hit record highs as the Santa Claus stock market rally continued. Holiday shopping was strong, with Amazon.com (AMZN) announcing big delivery and Prime metrics. Boeing (BA) CEO Dennis Muilenburg was fired over the 737 Max. Disney (DIS) edged lower as "The Rise Of Skywalker" box office came in far below the prior two films in the latest Star Wars trilogy.
XDow Jones Keeps Hitting Highs
The stock market rally continued to add to 2019 gains, with the Dow Jones, S&P 500 index and Nasdaq composite all at record highs. A few more stocks broke out, including Trade Desk (TTD) and gold royalty play Franco-Nevada (FNV). Boeing stock rose on the CEO ouster, while fellow Dow Jones component Disney stock dipped on the latest Star Wars film's performance. Amazon stock gapped above resistance amid strong online sales during the holiday season.
Holiday Sales Solid
U.S. retail sales excluding autos rose 3.4% from Nov. 1-Dec. 24, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, despite six fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas vs. last year. Online sales surged 18.8%, accounting for 14.6% of total sales. In-store sales were up 1.2%. Amazon (AMZN) said one-day and same-day delivery nearly quadrupled vs. a year earlier, as it invests heavily in one-day free shipping for Prime members. In one week, more than 5 million new customers started Prime free trials or began paid memberships worldwide. Tiffany (TIF) said holiday sales rose 1%-3%, with China sales up 5%-7%.
Boeing CEO Fired Over 737 Max
Boeing (BA) CEO Dennis Muilenburg was fired Monday amid criticism of his handling of the 737 Max crisis and scoldings by the FAA for pushing for a quicker return to service for the troubled jet. David Calhoun, who took over Muilenburg's position as chairman in October, will switch over to Boeing CEO on Jan. 13. Calhoun called the FAA's chief to say Boeing welcomes regulatory oversight. The FAA obtained more inflammatory messages "trash talking" the Boeing 737 Max from a company pilot, according to the Seattle Times. Boeing also told its 737 Max suppliers to pause shipments for one month starting in mid-January. Boeing shares popped nearly 3% Monday on Muilenburg's ouster, but pared weekly gains.
India has increased scrutiny of Airbus (EADSY) A320 neo jets, a rival to the Boeing 737 Max, after its engines shut down in midair. It ordered IndiGo, a major Airbus EADSY customer, to replace 130 Pratt & Whitney engines, up from 110. United Technologies (UTX) is the parent of Pratt & Whitney.
Stock Market Outlook: Clear Skies To Start 2020, But This Big Cloud Looms
Economic Data Mixed
Durable goods orders fell 2% in November, but were flat excluding transportation orders. Core capital goods orders edged up 0.1% after October's 1.1% gain. The business investment proxy is down vs. a year earlier, but a China trade deal and the revised USCMA U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade agreement could provide more certainty. New home sales rose modestly last month, but after October figures were revised down.
Biotechs
Shares of Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT) and Intra-Cellular Therapeutics (ITCI) rocketed on Monday. Sarepta announced a licensing deal with Roche (RHHBY) worth $1.15 billion. Roche will pay $700 million in cash and $400 million in stock to sell Sarepta's experimental gene therapy outside the U.S. If approved, the gene therapy will treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The FDA recently OK'd another Sarepta treatment for DMD. Intra-Cellular Therapeutics nearly tripled Monday after the FDA OK'd its schizophrenia treatment, Caplyta.
News In Brief
Walt Disney (DIS) scored a $374 million global opening weekend with "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker," defying tepid reviews. The finale to the nine-episode Skywalker saga fell short of some industry forecasts, as well as the opening weekends for 2017's "The Last Jedi" and 2015's "The Force Awakens." Disney stock edged lower but is near a buy point.
Electric truck and SUV startup Rivian announced a $1.3 billion funding round, led by T. Rowe Price (TROW). BlackRock (BLK) also invested in the Tesla (TSLA) challenger, whose first launches are due late 2020. While both asset managers invested in Rivian for the first time, Amazon (AMZN) and Ford Motor (F) hiked existing investments, all for undisclosed amounts.
Travis Kalanick is leaving the board of Uber Technologies (UBER) and has sold all his Uber stock, worth an estimated $2.5 billion. He co-founded Uber a decade ago and was CEO until his 2017 ouster. His latest venture is CloudKitchens, which rents out space to restaurateurs for delivery-based businesses.
Diamond Eagle Acquisition (DEAC), a blank check company that recently went public, will buy sports betting site DraftKings and gaming tech giant SBTech in a $2.1 billion deal. The company will take on the DraftKings name.
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The post Dow Jones Hits High On Santa Claus Stock Market Rally; Boeing CEO Fired, Amazon Rises On Holiday Sales, Disney Sits On 'Skywalker': Weekly Review appeared first on Investor's Business Daily.
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