- The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 653 points on Christmas Eve breaking 1918’s record for the worst-ever Christmas Eve trading day. Despite the fall, the Dow soared back two days later with a rise of 1,086 points, the largest daily point gain in its history.
- The stock of pharmaceutical and consumer goods manufacturer Johnson & Johnson fell 10 percent after losing a bid to overturn a jury verdict that awarded nearly $4.7 billion to consumers impacted by asbestos found in its baby powder products. Documents used in the case revealed that the company had known of the contamination for decades.
- Department store J. C. Penny saw its stock fall to 97 cents per share in late December marking the company’s worst day of trading since first being listed on the NYSE in 1929. The company closed 138 stores across the U.S. in 2017 and has not been profitable since 2010.
- Shares of Deere & Company, who owns the agricultural equipment brand John Deere, rose four percent after news that China will agree to purchase a “substantial” amount of agricultural product from the U.S. in the future. In November, China had imported zero soybeans from the U.S. in response to recent trade tariffs.
