Markets took a breather Friday morning after a strong Wednesday session, with U.S. stock futures pulling back slightly as traders returned from the Christmas holiday. The modest decline comes after markets closed early Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET and stayed shuttered Thursday for Christmas Day.

Futures across major benchmark indices showed red on Friday morning. The Dow Jones futures dropped 0.12%, while S&P 500 futures declined 0.06% and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.06%. The small-cap Russell 2000 futures posted the biggest loss, down 0.27%.

On the economic front, initial jobless claims offered some good news, declining by 10,000 from the previous week to 214,000 for the week ending December 20. That beat market estimates of 223,000, suggesting the labor market remains relatively stable heading into year-end.

The bond market showed the 10-year Treasury bond yielding 4.15%, while the two-year bond sat at 3.51%. According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, markets are pricing in an 84.5% probability that the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged at its January meeting.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices respectively, traded lower in premarket action Friday. The SPY declined 0.029% to $690.18, while the QQQ slipped 0.014% to $623.84.

Stocks Making Moves

Nvidia Partners With AI Chip Startup

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) shares climbed 0.58% after announcing a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Groq, an AI chip startup founded in 2016. The deal covers Groq's inference technology, adding another partnership to Nvidia's expanding AI ecosystem. The chip giant maintains a stronger price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, though it carries a poor value ranking based on market data.

Dynavax Soars on Sanofi Acquisition

Dynavax Technologies Corp. (DVAX) shares exploded 38.19% higher following Sanofi's announcement that it would acquire the vaccines company. The pharmaceutical giant's move to scoop up Dynavax represents a significant premium for shareholders. The stock maintains a stronger price trend across all time horizons, and Friday's surge only reinforced that momentum.

Sobr Safe Drops on Dilutive Offering

Sobr Safe Inc. (SOBR) tumbled 15.61% after announcing definitive agreements to issue 1.29 million shares of common stock at $1.55 per share along with associated warrants in a private placement. The dilutive offering weighed on the stock, which already maintains a weaker price trend over the short and medium terms, despite showing relative strength in the long term.

Davis Commodities Jumps on Revenue Growth

Davis Commodities Ltd. (DTCK) shares jumped 7.19% after reporting revenue of $95 million for the six months ended June 30, up 42.1% from $66.9 million a year earlier, according to the company's statement. Despite the strong revenue growth, the stock maintains a weaker price trend over the short, medium, and long terms.

Biohaven Plunges on Failed Drug Trial

Biohaven Ltd. (BHVN) slumped 14.06% after disclosing that its Phase 2 proof-of-concept study of BHV-7000 in major depressive disorder failed to meet its primary endpoint. Drug trial failures are always painful for biotech investors, and Biohaven's shares reflect that disappointment. The stock maintains a weaker price trend over the short, medium, and long terms.

Wednesday's Market Action

Before the holiday break, markets posted solid gains Wednesday during the abbreviated trading session. Consumer staples, real estate, and utilities stocks led the charge, while energy stocks bucked the broader trend and closed lower.

The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.22% to close at 23,613.31, while the S&P 500 rose 0.32% to 6,932.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted the strongest performance, climbing 0.60% to 48,731.16. The Russell 2000 added 0.27% to finish at 2,548.08.

A Reality Check on Market Records

Despite the S&P 500 hitting all-time highs, University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers argues the celebration is misplaced. He criticized the media's fixation on record stock numbers as "economic illiteracy," pointing out a crucial detail that gets lost in the headlines.

While U.S. markets are up roughly 18%, they're significantly lagging the rest of the world. "Global markets have risen by 30% over the past year," Wolfers noted. "We've underperformed the global market by 12%." He characterized the year as "miserable" for American investors when properly benchmarked against international peers.

That's an important perspective. Sure, hitting new highs feels good, but if everyone else is doing even better, are you really winning? It's like celebrating a 10% raise when your coworkers all got 20%.

Wolfers also warned against trusting "noisy" economic data, highlighting a disconnect between surging GDP and stalling job creation. While GDP grew over 4%, a more nuanced measure called Gross Domestic Income (GDI) showed only 2.4% growth.

"Employment growth has plummeted," Wolfers observed, suggesting the economy may have created "as few as zero jobs" recently. He cautioned that early data often tells conflicting stories, concluding that "the first draft of history is messy." It's a reminder that those initial economic releases often get revised substantially, sometimes telling a completely different story months later.

What's on the Economic Calendar

Investors looking for fresh economic data Friday will be disappointed. No major economic releases are scheduled, giving markets a quiet end to the holiday week. Sometimes the best trading days are the ones without data to surprise you.

Commodities, Currencies, and Crypto

Crude oil futures traded lower in early New York trading, down 0.39% to hover around $58.58 per barrel. Energy prices have been under pressure as global growth concerns persist.

Gold continued its impressive run, rising 0.84% to approximately $4,516.80 per ounce. The precious metal remains near its record high of $4,531.24 per ounce, as investors continue seeking safe-haven assets. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.10% higher at the 98.0730 level.

Bitcoin (BTC) traded 1.48% higher at $88,676.96 per coin, bouncing back after recent volatility in the cryptocurrency markets.

Global Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Friday. Australia's ASX 200 and India's Nifty 50 indices declined, while China's CSI 300, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, South Korea's Kospi, and Japan's Nikkei 225 indices posted gains. European markets were mostly lower in early trading as the continent worked through its own post-holiday trading session.

The mixed performance across global markets reflects the uncertain environment as investors look ahead to 2025, weighing persistent inflation concerns against hopes for economic stability and potential central bank policy shifts in the new year.