By Joe Woelfel

Stocks rose Friday after Wall Street kicked off the first trading day of the new year finishing lower in a volatile session.

These stocks were making moves Friday:

Tesla shares were up 2.1% after the electric-vehicle maker tumbled 6.1% on Thursday following weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter EV deliveries. The result led to a sales decline in 2024, the company's first year-over-year sales decline since the introduction of the Model S Sedan, Tesla's first true production vehicle, in 2012.

Rivian Automotive gained 13% after the EV company delivered 14,183 vehicles in the fourth quarter, better than analysts' consensus of 13,000. Rivian delivered 51,579 units in 2024, beating expectations of 51,000.

United States Steel was falling 6.1% after President Biden blocked the $14 billion sale of the U.S. steel company to Japan's Nippon Steel. In a statement, Biden said, "It is my solemn responsibility as president to ensure that, now and long into the future, America has a strong domestically owned and operated steel industry that can continue to power our national sources of strength at home and abroad; and it is a fulfillment of that responsibility to block foreign ownership of this vital American company."

Shares of alcohol companies Anheuser-Busch, Molson Coors, and Constellation Brands fell 1.7%, 2.9%, and 1.8%, respectively, after U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory outlining the link between alcohol consumption and cancer risk.

Shares of Vistra were up 5.3%. The electricity and power-generation company rose 8.6% on Thursday and was the S&P 500's best performer during the session. Vistra soared 258% last year as it rode the adoption of artificial intelligence by tech companies to significant gains. The company, like other utilities, provides electricity for giant AI data centers.

Another utility company, Constellation Energy, was rising 3.1% after jumping 8.4% on Thursday after the nuclear power plant owner signed two deals with the U.S. government that are expected to pay out about $1 billion over the next several years.

Nvidia was up 3.3% after jumping 3% on Thursday. The next big catalyst for Nvidia, the leading maker of AI chips, likely will be CEO Jensen Huang's speech at the CES tech show in Las Vegas on Monday.

Carvana declined 4.7%, a day after short-seller Hindenburg Research criticized the used-car retailer in a report. Wall Street rushed in to defend the company, however, and Carvana called the report "intentionally misleading and inaccurate" in a statement reported by the New York Post.

Chewy was up 4% to $35.24 after analysts at Wolfe Research upgraded shares of the online pet products retailer to Outperform from Peer Perform with a price target of $42.

Shares of Block rose 3.5% to $89.77 as analysts at Raymond James upgraded the payments company to Outperform from Market Perform with a $115 price target.

Write to Joe Woelfel at joseph.woelfel@barrons.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 03, 2025 09:49 ET (14:49 GMT)

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