Stocks slid on Thursday in a choppy first trading session of the new year, as the slump to end 2024 extended into January.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average traded down 151.95 points, or 0.36%, to close at 42,392.27. The S&P 500 fell 0.22%, finishing at 5,868.55. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.16% to 19,280.79. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have now fallen for five straight sessions, their longest losing streaks since April.

The market averages initially rose on Thursday, with the Dow up more than 300 points at session highs, but the gains reversed in late-morning trading. The Dow's intraday swing from high to low was more than 700 points.

Tech giant Apple weighed on the market, falling 2.6%. Tesla fell 6% after reporting that annual deliveries declined in 2024. Chipmaker Nvidia rose 3%, helping to somewhat offset the declines from other Big Tech stocks.

Thursday's trading moves come after a solid 2024 for stocks ended on a sour note. The S&P 500 surged 23%, but ended the year with four straight down days for the first time since 1966.

"If you think about the market moving two steps forward, one step back, we're in that one-step back phase after a stellar, really, 2024. … Valuations and sentiment have swung to the optimistic euphoric side, so we're seeing the market work through those overbought conditions in the short term," Edward Jones senior investment strategist Angelo Kourkafas told CNBC.

The losing streak means it will be difficult for a "Santa Claus rally" to materialize. That well-known market indicator is usually characterized by rising stocks in the five final days of a calendar year and the first two trading days of January. The broad index rises an average of 1.3% during this period and has finished higher almost 80% of the time, according to Dow Jones market data going back to 1950.

Bond yields were also volatile on Thursday, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rising to nearly 4.6% at one point before retreating. Higher rates may make fixed income an attractive alternative to investors worried about the valuation of the stock market.

"If we don't want to buy at all-time highs, you can now still earn good money in cash. Let it sit there, wait for a better entry point, and wait for it in certain stocks," Liz Young Thomas, head of investment strategy at SoFi, said on "Halftime Report."

The holiday-shortened week has been light on economic data, but a jobless claims report on Thursday showed both initial and continuing unemployment claims falling week over week.

Correction: A previous version misstated the day of the week.

Stocks close lower to kick off 2025

The major averages finished the first day of 2025 in the red, but they were well off their lows of the session. The S&P 500 has now fallen for five straight trading sessions, its longest losing streak since a six-day slide ending April 19 of last year.

— Jesse Pound

Dow down 180 points in final hour

With less than an hour to go in the trading day, the major averages are off their lows of the day.

The Dow is down about 180 points, or 0.4%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are also down 0.4%.

Among S&P 500 sectors, energy is a bright spot, climbing 0.9%. Consumer discretionary is the worst-performing group, down more than 1.3%.

— Jesse Pound

Stock market breadth positive despite slide for major averages

The major averages are off to a disappointing start to the year, but the story is more positive under the hood.

Stocks on the New York Stock Exchange were split evenly between advancers and decliners, according to FactSet. On the Nasdaq, more stocks were actually rising than falling.

Market breadth has taken on extra important in recent weeks because it was poor in December, even on days when the market averages climbed.

— Jesse Pound

January spells 'choppy' trading across all asset classes, HSBC says

Virtually all asset classes have begun to "suffer" as a result of the Federal Reserve's hawkish messaging at its December meeting, according to HSBC.

"Hawkish pivot by the Fed prompts a further rise in yields, triggering what we call the Danger Zone," Max Kettner, the bank's chief multi-asset strategist, wrote in a Thursday note. "This means that January is likely to remain choppy for virtually all asset classes, but should create attractive entry points given that fundamentals are still on a solid footing — we think [the first half of 2025] will bring a proper Goldilocks backdrop."

Kettner added that he remains bullish on U.S. tech stocks in the case of a further dip in the sector.

— Lisa Kailai Han

2025 is 'most positive' regulatory change environment for banks in three decades, Wells Fargo says

Wells Fargo has a positive outlook on banks this year.

"This is the most positive [regulatory] change environment for banks in 3 decades," analyst Mike Mayo said in a Thursday note to clients. "We expect inflection in [net interest income], loans, deposits, capital markets, operating leverage, EPS growth and regulatory oversight—all for the better."

Mayo reiterated Citigroup as his top pick for 2025, saying the bank should outperform peers with improvements in earnings per share, efficiency and returns. "We forecast a pivotal moment for the stock when returns move from value destruction to value creation in 2025-2026," he said about Citi.

State Street and JPMorgan are Mayo's other favorites. Both banks should beat consensus expectations on their fourth-quarter performances, he said.

— Pia Singh

Dollar index hits highest level since late 2022

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's performance against six other currencies, climbed 0.7% on Thursday, reaching levels not seen since November 2022. The benchmark was last at 109.29.

— Fred Imbert

Stocks making the biggest midday moves: Tesla, Unity Software and more

These are the stocks moving the most in midday trading:

• Tesla — The electric vehicle maker slipped 5% after reporting its first ever annual vehicle deliveries decline.
• Unity Software — The video game stock surged 9% after online personality Keith Gill, also known by his online moniker Roaring Kitty, posted a gif on social media site X of a "Chappelle's Show" sketch in which comedian Dave Chappelle plays late musician Rick James. One of James' songs is titled "Unity."
• Constellation Energy — Shares jumped 7% after the company secured a record-setting $1 billion in combined contracts to supply nuclear energy to the U.S. federal government.

Read the full list of stocks moving here.

Lisa Kailai Han

Stocks near lows of the day

Stocks took another leg lower in midday trading, and the major market averages are now near their lows of the day. The Dow is down more than 250 points after being up about 360 points at morning highs.

— Jesse Pound

Solar stocks bounce following losing year

Solar stocks rallied to kick off the new year after ending 2024 on a negative note.

The Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) climbed more than 5%, on track for its best day since September. Thursday's rally would also snap a four-day losing streak.

Sunnova led the fund higher on Thursday with a surge of more than 16%. SolarEdge followed, jumping nearly 11%.

Solar stocks appeared to be lifted by a report from electric vehicle maker Tesla showing record deployment and deliveries for energy storage products. Tesla is not in the exchange-traded fund, so the stock's slide on Thursday did not directly affect any moves in the fund.

The ETF is coming off a rough patch, with 2024 marking its fourth negative year in a row. With a drop of nearly 38%, 2024 was also its worst year since 2016.

— Alex Harring

Benchmark Treasury yield turns positive on the day

The bond market has seen its own intraday reversal, and the 10-year Treasury yield is now up slightly on the day at 4.591%. Bond yields move opposite of price.

The rise in yields may have been a factor leading to stocks falling from their session highs.

— Jesse Pound

Constellation Energy shares pop

Constellation Energy shares advanced 6.5% in midday trading, after the U.S. General Services Administration awarded Constellation more than $1 billion in combined contracts for nuclear energy.

"For many decades, Constellation's nuclear fleet has provided carbon-free, reliable, American-made energy to millions of families and institutions," Constellation President and CEO Joe Dominguez said in a statement. "Frustratingly, however, nuclear energy was excluded from many corporate and government sustainable energy procurements. Not anymore."

— Sarah Min

Stocks give up gains

Stocks bounced around throughout Thursday morning, and then all three averages were negative at around 11 a.m. ET. The Dow was up about 360 points at session highs.

Jesse Pound

Wells Fargo adds McDonald's to overweight ideas list

Wells Fargo added McDonald's to its long tactical ideas list for the first quarter of 2025.

The stock has struggled since a deadly E. coli outbreak was first announced in October. However, the bank's equity research department said the new year should be one defined by the fast-food chain catching up on same-store comps, unit growth and valuation.

"MCD's stock has been in the penalty box post the E. coli outbreak, with shares range bound," the team wrote in a Thursday note. "But we see MCD breaking out."

Shares rose about 2% in Thursday's trading session. The stock finished 2024 down more than 2%, hurt by a 4.8% drop in the fourth quarter.

— Alex Harring

Manufacturing PMI shows weakness in factory activity

Manufacturing activity in December edged lower and held in contraction territory, according to a report Thursday from S&P Global.

The firm's purchasing managers' index for the month edged lower to 49.4, down 0.4 points from the November reading though above the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 48.3. A reading below 50 on the diffusion index indicates contraction.

S&P attributed the weakness to a pullback in new orders along with scaled-back plans for purchasing and inventory.

— Jeff Cox

Nasdaq rebounds to lead major averages

The Nasdaq Composite's dip into the red for the day proved short-lived. The tech-heavy index quickly bounced back and is now up about 1%, ahead of the Dow and S&P 500.

Chip stocks are helping boost the Nasdaq, with Nvidia up more than 2%.

Jesse Pound

Nasdaq gives up early gains

The Nasdaq briefly turned negative in early trading, hurt in part by Tesla's slide. The tech-heavy index was last up about 0.2%.

— Jesse Pound

Stocks open higher on first day of 2025

Wall Street is starting off 2025 on a positive foot.

The Dow opened higher by about 295 points, or 0.7%. The S&P 500 added 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite also rose 0.5%.

— Jesse Pound

Tesla reports first ever annual vehicle deliveries decline, stock falls

Shares of Tesla were under pressure Thursday morning after the company disclosed that annual deliveries declined for the first time.

Tesla reported 495,570 in vehicle deliveries for the fourth quarter of 2024. That is below the 504,770 expected by analysts, according to FactSet's StreetAccount, and means deliveries were down about 19,000 for the full year.

The stock was down more than 3% shortly before the opening bell.

— Jesse Pound

Jobless claims at 211,000, less than expected

Initial filings for unemployment benefits moved lower last week as companies have been reluctant to part with workers, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Jobless claims totaled 211,000 for the week ending Dec. 28, down 9,000 from the upwardly revised level of the prior period and below the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 225,000.

On continuing claims, which run a week behind, the level fell from what had been a three-year peak, down to 1.844 million, or a decrease of 52,000.

— Jeff Cox

Jefferies upgrades CBRE, cites ‘strong’ top-line growth ahead

CBRE may be poised for big gains in the coming months, according to Jefferies.

Shares rose more than 2% in the premarket after analyst Peter Abramowitz upgraded the stock to buy from hold. His upgraded price target implies nearly 16% upside from Tuesday's close.

"We believe CBRE should continue to post strong top-line growth in [Global Workplace Solutions], driven by its market leading position in the outsourcing business (an industry with strong tailwinds)," the analyst wrote in a Thursday note. "We view this as a mid-to-high-single-digit growing market, but note outsized prospects for CBRE, given that the company's scale allows it to gain market share by improving the competitiveness of its product offering, while realizing margin savings."

On top of seeing that particular business unit outperform expectations, Abramowitz believes transaction activity could also see a pickup, calling for top-line growth in advisory sales of more than 25% year over year in 2026.

CBRE outperformed the broader market in 2024, with a gain of 41% over the past 12 months. The stock has been particularly hot over the past six months, surging 51%.

— Sean Conlon

See the stocks moving before the bell

These are some of the stocks moving in Thursday's premarket:

• Synaptics — The semiconductor stock jumped 5.9% after announcing a partnership with Google for Edge AI.
• Topgolf Callaway Brands — The golf stock climbed 8.5% on the heels of a Jefferies upgrade to buy from hold.
• China stocks — U.S.-listed shares of Xpeng and JD.com were among the China-based stocks sliding after a weak manufacturing report hurt the country's market. The iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI) slipped more than 1%.

See the full list here.

— Alex Harring

S&P 500 likely set for about a 6% gain in 2025, technical analyst Wald says

Historical and technical trading patterns point to a modest gain for stocks in 2025, according to Oppenheimer technical analyst Ari Wald.

A year-end target of 6,400 for the S&P 500 "balances the bull and bear case" for stocks, Wald said in a note to clients Thursday.

"Our S&P 500 expected return for 2025 is 6%, indicating S&P 6,400 using 6,000 as an approximate starting point, balanced between what we see as below-average market-top risk to start the year (bull case: 6,700) and longer-term studies that indicate the S&P is likely to moderate over the next 12 months following back-to-back above-average years (bear case: 6,000). We see a trend channel that aligns with these approximations too," Wald said in the note to clients.

Notably, this is lower than the formal Oppenheimer prediction from strategist John Stoltzfus. His target of 7,100 is the highest in the CNBC Market Strategist Survey.

— Jesse Pound

Futures extend gains

Equity futures continued to gain ground Thursday morning.

At roughly 7 a.m. in New York, Dow futures were up more than 300 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures had gained more than 1%.

Crypto prices were also moving higher, potentially pointing to a broader risk-on move for the day. The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) was up more than 3% in premarket trading.

— Jesse Pound

European stocks kick off 2025 on a positive note

European markets kicked off 2025 trading on a positive note, with the cross-European Stoxx 600 adding 0.28% by 8:11 a.m. London time.

Oil and gas and mining stocks led gains and were last 1.47% and 1.32% higher, respectively. Banks meanwhile dipped 0.1% and media stocks fell 0.33%, making them the only two sectors to pull back.

Major regional bourses also gained on Thursday, with the U.K.'s FTSE 100 adding 0.29%, France's CAC 40 rising 0.21% and Germany's DAX climbing 0.55%.

— Sophie Kiderlin

China stocks lead losses with CSI 300 closing down nearly 3%; Asia markets mixed

SINGAPORE — Asian stocks traded mixed Thursday, with China stocks leading losses as several major markets resumed trading after the New Year's Day holiday.

Mainland China's CSI 300 dipped over 3% lower before narrowing the losses to 2.91%, ending at 3,820.39. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 2.37% in the final hour of trade.

South Korea's Kospi index inched lower to close at 2,398.94, while the Kosdaq added 1.24% to 686.63. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.52% and finished at 8,201.2.

Markets in Japan will remain closed for the rest of this week.

— Anniek Bao

Stock futures are higher to begin 2025

Stock futures rose slightly as Wall Street headed into its first day of trading in 2025.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 81 points, or 0.2%, while S&P 500 futures ticked up nearly 16 points, or 0.3%. Nasdaq-100 futures climbed 76 points, or 0.4%.

— Christina Cheddar Berk