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Investing.com–US stocks rose Friday, looking to close the first week of the new year on a positive note ahead of data that should provide more insights on the health of the largest economy in the world.<\/p>\n
At 13:20 ET (18:20 GMT), the gained 0.7%,\u00a0the index rose 1.1%, and the index climbed 1.6%.<\/p>\n
The main Wall Street indexes reported stellar gains in 2024, but expectations of slower interest rate cuts and uncertainty over policies under incoming President Donald Trump have chipped away at this sentiment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a relatively quiet day for economic data, investors will have the chance to parse through US factory activity figures for December later in the session.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Institute for Supply Management’s for the manufacturing sector\u00a0is seen cooling slightly to 48.2 last month, down from a five-month high of 48.4 in November. A reading below 50 typically denotes contraction in the industry, which makes up over 10% of the US economy.<\/p>\n
It was the eighth consecutive month that the measure was below the 50-point threshold, although the number remained above a level of 42.5 that the ISM says indicates broader economic expansion.<\/p>\n
In the corporate sector, United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:) stock slumped over 6% after President Joe Biden said on Friday he would block Japanese company Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion buyout of the US steel company, citing reasons related to national security and keeping the storied American firm domestically owned and run.<\/p>\n
Rivian Automotive <\/span><\/span> (NASDAQ:) stock rose over 22.6% after the EV manufacturer surpassed analysts’ expectations for fourth-quarter deliveries and said its production was no longer constrained by a component shortage, a positive sign for the electric vehicle maker aiming to turn its first profit.<\/p>\n Apple (NASDAQ:) stock slipped 0.3%, adding to the previous session’s losses, after data\u00a0released on Friday from a government-affiliated research firm, showed that shipments to China of foreign-branded smartphones, including the iPhone, fell by 47.4% in November from a year earlier, down for the fourth month.<\/p>\n Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:) stock rose 1.02% after the Facebook-owner\u00a0has elevated prominent Republican Joel Kaplan to be its chief global affairs officer, replacing Nick Clegg,\u00a0who was formerly British deputy prime minister and leader of the country’s center-left Liberal Democrats.<\/p>\n Oil prices edged higher Friday, adding to the prior session\u2019s gains amid hopes of policy support to revive economic growth in China, the world\u2019s largest crude importer.<\/p>\n By 13:20 ET, the US crude futures (WTI) rose 1.4% to $74.17 a barrel, while the\u00a0Brent\u00a0contract gained 1% to $76.7 per barrel.<\/p>\n Both contracts closed at their highest in more than two months on Thursday, and are on track for their second weekly increase after investors returned from holidays, improving trade liquidity.<\/p>\n China’s President Xi Jinping pledged more proactive policies to boost growth earlier this week, while the Financial Times reported on Friday that the Chinese central bank is planning to cut interest rates from the current 1.5% level \u201cat an appropriate time\u201d this year.<\/p>\n (Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\nCrude pushes higher\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n