5 Stocks To Watch in December—And What To Watch For

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Editors’ Picks for Companies That Are Likely to Be in the Spotlight

Timothy A. Clary / AFP / Getty Images

Stocks soared to record highs in November as Wall Street looked ahead to a second term for President-elect Donald Trump.

The S&P 500 climbed 5.7%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 7.5% and the Nasdaq Composite added 6.2%. The Russell 2000, an index of small-cap stocks, surged nearly 11%, boosted by expectations for faster economic growth and lower taxes under Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress.

Market participants in December are likely to continue to pay special attention to Trump and his policy proposals. Though Wall Street will also be attuned to the near-term economic outlook, especially inflation and the labor market.

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to make its last interest rate decision of the year on December 18. Policymakers have emphasized lately that they’re in no rush to cut rates, but traders are still pricing in the likelihood of another quarter-point cut in December.

Below, we look at a few stocks that could see big price moves in the month ahead.

No S&P 500 stock has gained more from the re-election of Donald Trump than Tesla (TSLA), whose CEO Elon Musk has embedded himself in the president-elect’s inner circle after spending millions of dollars on his campaign.

Shares of the electric vehicle (EV) maker have soared nearly 40% since Election Day. That surge, which has pushed the company’s market value over $1 trillion, has come even as the incoming Trump administration has vowed to roll back government support for EVs, including a $7,500 tax credit.

Wall Street expects Tesla to benefit from Elon Musk’s sway with the future President, which he could exercise as both an informal advisor and the co-leader of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. Trump’s transition team has already reportedly outlined plans to ease self-driving car rules, which could help make real Musk’s dream of launching a Tesla robotaxi service. Musk could also encourage Trump to exempt Tesla’s vehicles from proposed tariffs on goods from China.

Tesla stock will remain in focus this month as Trump continues to staff and define the priorities of his incoming administration.

Salesforce (CRM) reports earnings after markets close on Dec. 3, and its results could be an early test of tech’s ability to monetize artificial intelligence and justify record stock prices.

The enterprise software giant launched Agentforce, its generative AI-powered assistant, on October 25, with the goal of having its AI agents used 1 billion times by the end of 2025. Salesforce is reportedly hiring 1,000 sales reps to drive adoption of the new tool.

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