Stock Market News: New York City gets casinos, Palantir and Databricks
Summarize this article with:
The nonfarm payroll, also known as the jobs report, was released on Tuesday, December 16. Although it did not change significantly from September, the October report was delayed due to the government shutdown, it still paints a bleak economic picture. And the market showed its bearish outlook on the weakening labor market.The S&P 500 closed 0.2% lower, partly held by gains in Comcast, Robinhood and United Airlines.The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was able to turn around near the close, and despite the earlier decline, it closed 0.2% higher.The Dow Jones declined by more than 300 points, closing 0.6% lower, with the Russell 2000 down 0.5% at the closing bell.A significant decline today, however, came in oil, its lowest since 2021, and reached $55.12 per barrel after declining around 3% intraday.This comes as Russia and Ukraine peace talks improve and Ukraine appears ready to accept changes as long as it guarantees future peace. However, as geopolitical trade tensions decline and peace prevails, it will lead to an improved oil supply, which is currently impacting the oil prices, or at least it's one of the few reasons.Natural gas went below $4/mmbtu on Tuesday after a 2.4% decline.The interest around cannabis reclassification continues, with President Trump strongly considering it; related stock Tilray, a Canadian consumer goods packaging company, soared 27% intraday. Remember, though, that this reclassification does not automatically legalize it in states where it is banned: it simply eases the rules surrounding its testing for medicinal and research purposes. Palantir's stock is up 148% year-to-date.Photo by Lucy North - PA Images on Getty Images Will New York City become the new Atlantic City?On Monday, the New York State Gaming Commission signed off on three new casino licenses to some of the big names in the industry. Bally’s Corporation, which plans to open a Casino as Bally’s Bronx on President Donald Trump’s former golf course, got the license.Second to win the licensing bid was Queen’s Future LLC doing business as Hard Rock Metropolitan Park near Citi Field in Queens.And finally, Genting New York, doing business as Resorts World New York, will expand its Aqueduct Racetrack facility near JFK Airport.Related: Cooling jobs report resets Fed interest-rate cut betNow, while this will definitely change New York’s business scene and was called out by protestors for increasing gambling addiction among the city’s residents, it will add to the city’s revenue tenfold.
The Gaming Commission also ordered the creation of an objective committee of people who would regularly report to the commission on revenue and legal bindings.Stock movers todayA business offering that is improving stock prices is robotaxis.
After Elon Musk posted on his X that driverless robotaxis were being tested in Austin, Texas, the company's stock started trending upward. On Tuesday, after posting a 3% gain, Tesla stock recorded a new high at $491, marking a 21% year-to-date gain for the EV maker.More Tesla:Tesla fatal crash lawsuit takes a wild turnTesla: what must happen for the $1 trillion payoutTesla accused of not following key lawTesla has more bad news for Cybertruck loversAnother major tech company, Meta, saw a 1.5% stock gain after news broke that its Instagram had expanded Reels to TV with Amazon Fire TV. The new expansion will allow users to view Reels on the big screen without having to constantly change, as it autoplays, entering as a direct competition to YouTube.Earlier this year, Meta also launched its Instagram video editing feature into an app called Edits, as a competition to TikTok’s CapCut, which came under scrutiny amid the TikTok ban and sale.Robinhood, which has been expanding its client coverage by entering the prediction markets today, saw a 3.6% gain in stock price as Truist analyst David Smith initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $155 price target. The trading platform has seen more than 200% stock gain year-to-date.The analyst cites its “sizable growth” and market share increase with new products as a driver for the coverage. Truist believes Robinhood is on track for a second consecutive year of 50% or more revenue growth, with 20% growth achievable over the next few years, according to TheFly. Palantir and Accenture entered into a partnership on Tuesday to expand AI solutions. Accenture Federal will now be Palantir’s preferred implementation partner for its federal government customers. The two AI-powered companies will partner to enhance operational resilience in the government's highest-priority challenges. This will include making US warfighters safer with cutting-edge AI computing solutions and equipping them with real-time information and analytics to enable greater situational awareness and safety in combat.Palantir was up 2.5% on Tuesday, a 148% year-to-date growth for the defense tech player, which was on the receiving end last month after investor Michael Burry sold a significant portion of Palantir’s stock from his Scion Asset Management’s portfolio.Databricks, a major analytics and AI cloud provider, is now raising $4 billion Series L investment at a $134 billion valuation. One of the companies that has been growing extensively but has shied away from going public yet will use this capital to assist its customers in building AI apps and agents on their proprietary data, according to the Wall Street Journal. This funding round was led by J.P.
Morgan Asset Management, Fidelity Management & Research Company, and Insight Partners, with funds managed by Blackstone, Robinhood Ventures, and other investors. Related: Iconic retailer makes comeback as stores close