Christmas rebound fails as U.S. stock market declines, Bitcoin down $15,000

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The "Santa Claus rally" has officially failed. The U.S. stock market will close with consecutive declines during the 2024 holiday trading period, a rare and unwelcome event that has only occurred twice in market history.

Investors had hoped for a year-end rally to boost their portfolios, but now they are buying coal instead. In Monday's early trading, stock index futures showed weaker trends. Dow Jones futures fell by 81 points, down 0.19%. S&P 500 futures fell by 0.16%, while Nasdaq 100 futures remained flat.

Overall, major indices in 2024 still performed strongly, but December's performance was very poor. The S&P 500 index fell by 1%, and the Dow Jones index fell by 4.3%, marking the worst month since April. Despite these losses, the S&P 500 index has still risen by 25.2% this year, and the Dow Jones index is up 14.1%.

The Nasdaq Composite Index has risen by 31.4%, making it the clear winner of 2024. But now, no one is celebrating. The "Christmas rally" is a historically bullish period that includes the last five trading days of December and the first two trading days of January, but it has failed to materialize.

Data from LPL Financial shows that historically, the S&P 500 index has averaged a rise of 1.3% during this period. How about this year? The gain is not significant. Instead, Friday's sell-off and the increasing profit-taking at year-end have left investors in a bind.

Nasdaq shines, Bitcoin struggles

Despite the market volatility, the Nasdaq index ended the fourth quarter with outstanding performance. The index rose by 8.4%, marking the longest rally since 2021. The S&P 500 index followed closely, rising by 3.6% this quarter, marking its fifth consecutive rise. The Dow Jones index was not so lucky, with a quarterly increase of only 1.6%, barely holding on.

Meanwhile, cryptocurrency enthusiasts are witnessing Bitcoin lose momentum. Earlier this year, due to President Donald Trump's pro-cryptocurrency policies, Bitcoin, the top cryptocurrency, soared, but now it continues to decline. As of the time of writing, Bitcoin is valued at around $93,420, about $15,000 lower than its all-time high of $108,400.

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