Trump's first actions and job data to test market in January

After closing the books on a banner year for US stocks, investors expect to ride seasonal momentum into mid-January when a slew of economic data and a transition of power in Washington could send markets moving.

The S&P 500 rose roughly 25 per cent in 2024 through December 27, while the technologyheavy Nasdaq Composite index, which surpassed 20,000 for the first time in December, is up over 31 per cent. On Friday, however, stocks sold off amid some profit taking and questions about how markets could perform in January, according to analysts and traders.

"There are concerns that maybe the first part of (next) year can involve some repositioning and reallocation of funds and those that are trading today and next week are probably just trying to get a little bit ahead of that," said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth.

Stocks tend to do well in the last five trading days of December and into the first two days of January, a phenomenon dubbed the Santa Claus rally, which has driven S&P gains of an average of 1.3 per cent since 1969, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac.

Despite the Friday selloff, for the last five trading sessions, the S&P rose 1.77 per cent, while the Nasdaq was up 1.8 per cent.