The stock market had a bull run this week, with the S&P 500 making gains in four of the days and jumping 3.4% over the five-day trading period, its best numbers since the 2024 presidential election. Market players reacted positive to favorable inflation data for December, strengthening expectations of the Fed easing its monetary stance, and better-than-expected results from major banks as the fourth-quarter earnings season began. The next week will be dominated by Donald Trump's inauguration, with many bracing for a slew of policies and tariffs in the early days of his second administration. For this week, however, these were some of the stocks trending in the market: Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) was in the news on Friday after it announced that its obesity drug semaglutide led to 20.7% weight loss over 72 weeks at a higher dose in a late-stage trial. However, the drugmaker still ended the week in red, dropping -6.8% while competing Eli Lilly ( LLY ) also ended -8% after forecasting Q4 revenues below analysts’ expectations. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ( TSM ) rose 4.3% this week, helped by a higher-than-expected capex for 2025. The jump in the world’s biggest chip supplier led to rally across U.S. chip equipment makers. UnitedHealth ( UNH ) dropped nearly -5%, pulled by its Q4 revenue miss. The largest U.S. health insurer was hurt in 2024 by rising medical expenses and one of the largest healthcare data breaches in the year. Intel ( INTC ) surged 13.5% this week on renewed takeover speculation after a SemiAccurate report said it was being targeted for a complete acquisition. The chipmaker was last in the center of takeover rumors in September, when The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg reported separately that rivals Qualcomm ( QCOM ) and Broadcom ( AVGO ) were eyeing the company. Symbotic ( SYM ) jumped 17.5% on its $200M acquisition of Walmart's ( WMT ) Advanced Systems and Robotics business for $200M. The transaction would increase its future backlog by more than $5B and mark a step toward developing an integrated automated supply chain. Sage Therapeutics ( SAGE ) dropped 8.3% in the week, after seeing a jump the previous week on news of a nonbinding acquisition offer from Biogen ( BIIB ). This week it reportedly sued Biogen over enforcement of a standstill agreement in the wake of the takeover bid. Moderna ( MRNA ) plunged more than -24% on Monday but managed to recover over the course of the week to end 2.4%. The company started the week with a pared down FY2025 revenue guidance over weaker-than-expected demand for its COVID and RSV vaccines. Plug Power ( PLUG ) dropped nearly -14% in a week during which it received a $1.66B loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy to fund up to six projects for zero- or low-carbon hydrogen production at scale, and agreed to supply 3 GW electrolyzer capacity to an upcoming Australian green hydrogen-to-ammonia plant. Target ( TGT ) shares dropped -4.3% despite posting strong holiday sales numbers on Thursday. The retailer saw 2024 holiday season sales rise 2.8% and post record-high sales during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, well ahead of expectations. Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) and other crypto-related stocks rallied this week on a report that Trump may sign an executive order prioritizing crypto in the first days of his term. The benchmark crypto token was up nearly 10% this week. MicroStrategy ( MSTR ), the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, surged nearly 28%. Other linked stocks that made gains were Coinbase Global ( COIN ), Robinhood Markets ( HOOD ), MARA Holdings ( MARA ), Riot Platforms ( RIOT ), Hut 8 ( HUT ), Bitfarms ( BITF ), HIVE Digital Technologies ( HIVE ), Ether ( ETH-USD ), Pepe ( PEPE-USD ), Shiba Inu ( SHIB-USD ), MarketMove ( MOVE-USD ), Litecoin ( LTC-USD ) and Dogecoin ( DOGE-USD ). Rigetti Computing ( RGTI ), D-Wave Quantum ( QBTS ), and Rivian Automotive ( RIVN ) were among the most traded stocks in the U.S. market this week. More on the trending stocks. Taiwan Semiconductor's Rich FY2025 Guidance Signals A Multi-Year Data Center Boom Taiwan Semiconductor: Strong Growth, Strong Outlook TSMC Q4 Earnings: An Exceptional Report Bulls vs. Bears: Intel revisited amid buyout rumors BofA’s best financial, consumer stock ideas for 2025: WFC, SBUX, more
