Wall Street stalled an upbeat start to the year as the first annual decline in Tesla’s global sales in more than a decade weighed on the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
Tesla shares fell 6.8% in afternoon trading in New York, with the Nasdaq down 0.8% as the major US indices started 2025 on the backfoot.
That came as Tesla reported a fall in annual vehicle deliveries around the world in 2024, ending a 12-year run of growth. At the same time, China’s BYD said it sold a record number of electric and hybrid vehicles in December.
Meanwhile, Apple shares slipped 3.2% after the world’s biggest listed company agreed to a US$95 million settlement to resolve a class suit claiming its Siri service breached customer privacy through unintentional recordings.
Global stock markets had broadly started 2025 stronger, with the UK’s FTSE 100 up 1.1% as rising gold and oil prices buoyed mining and energy companies, including Shell and BP.
Gold futures prices rose 1.1% to US$2,670 an ounce with investors eyeing up the relative safety of the precious metal in what may be an uncertain year under the return of the Trump administration, while Bitcoin climbed 2.3% to US$96,786.
Tense times
Tensions between China and the US remain elevated, with China imposing trade controls on 28 US companies.
Brent crude oil rose 2% to US$76.15 a barrel on optimism China’s focus on reviving growth in the world’s second-biggest economy will stoke demand for fuel.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.5% yesterday when it started the year’s trading, although futures markets are indicating a 0.4% decline today with the souring sentiment on Wall Street.
The strength of the greenback has raised some questions across the Tasman about how soon the Reserve Bank of Australia will start lower interest rates and the kiwi slipped to 90.20 Australian cents at 7am from 90.42 cents at the close of 2024. New Zealand’s central bank started cutting its benchmark interest rate last year, and is expected to continue lowering the rate this year.
The local currency was broadly unchanged against the greenback, trading at 55.95 US cents.
Reporting Paul McBeth. Image from Michael Förtsch on Unsplash.