Happy Thursday afternoon to everyone on The Street. Here's a snapshot of where markets ended the trading session, plus tomorrow's trade idea delivered to you today.

• 🟨 | US stocks were mixed today, but the Dow ticked up 15 points, just enough to snap its longest losing streak in five decades.

• 📈 | One Notable Gainer: Shares of Olive Garden-parent Darden Restaurants soared nearly 15% to a new high on an earnings beat and a rosy forecast that stoked excitement for dining demand in 2025.

• 📉 | One Notable Decliner: Micron Technology’s stock plummeted more than 16% in response to a lackluster outlook, as sales of AI chips continue to dramatically outpace those of traditional semiconductors.

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MARKET MOVERS

Vertex, Accenture, Cintas

VRTX (-11.4%) Vertex's painkiller results match placebo in study, shares tumble (Reuters)

ACN (+7%) Accenture Stock Surges as Earnings Top Estimates and AI Bookings Grow (Investopedia)

CTAS (-10.6%) Cintas Shares Gap Down - Here's Why (MarketBeat)

BA (+2.5%) Boeing Stock Seen as a ‘Dog of the Dow’ for 2025. That’s Bullish. (Barron’s)

LW (-20.1%) Lamb Weston falls after slashing guidance due to soft volume trends (SeekingAlpha)

OVERHEARD ON THE STREET

AP: The US economy grew at a strong 3.1% annual rate in Q3, an upward revision from previous GDP estimates.

WSJ: Sales of existing homes rose 6.1% in November, marking the largest annual gain since 2021.

Reuters: The number of Americans filing new jobless claims fell more than expected last week, nearly reversing the previous two weeks' increases.

CNN: Amazon drivers went on strike in four states ahead of the holidays in what Teamsters have called the largest-ever strike against the company.

CNBC: A father and son pleaded guilty to orchestrating a stock manipulation scheme involving a small New Jersey deli with a parent company valued at $100M.

TOMORROW’S TRADE IDEA, TODAY

UBS Says Prepare For a Bubble

Boom or Bubble?

It’s been a banner few years for the stock market, with the S&P 500’s gains on track to exceed 20% for two years running. But can the boom continue, or is it a bubble waiting to pop?

Swiss bank UBS (UBS) believes the stock market may well keep rallying into 2025. But it also pointed out a warning sign — and urged investors to start preparing now for if or when the bubble bursts.

Batten Down the Hatches

Analyst Andrew Garthwaite says that, while his team remains cautiously optimistic, 6 of 7 preconditions for a market bubble currently exist. These include profits under pressure and a loss of market breadth.

Meanwhile, the only one missing is loose monetary policy, which may well be on the horizon. The Federal Reserve cut rates once again yesterday, although it did signal uncertainty as to whether more cuts will materialize in the near term.

Garthwaite recommends that investors prepare for a market bubble by investing in stocks with proven, durable track records of growth spanning several market cycles.

Stock Picks

UBS identified several stocks that it thinks could serve as hedges against a market bubble bursting.

Among them are familiar names that have benefited from the AI boom, but retain a strong footing in other facets of the economy, too: Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), Meta (META), and Vistra (VST). These stocks are all pricey at the moment. But their histories suggest they could hold up well should a market downturn occur.

There’s no knowing what the future holds. But no matter what’s around the corner, UBS would argue, it’s better safe than sorry.

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ON OUR RADAR

CNBC: Discover the 75 most valuable college sports programs, ranked.

Bloomberg: US House Republicans say they have a deal to fund the government and avoid a shutdown after President-elect Donald Trump torpedoed previous efforts.

AP: Ireland's data centers, vital for the AI boom, are wearing out their welcome, as they consume more electricity than all of the country's urban homes.

CNN: Reporters Without Borders is urging Apple to remove its new AI feature that summarizes news stories, after it generated a false headline from the BBC.

Reuters: Spain's AEPD ruled Sam Altman's company Worldcoin must delete all iris scanning data collected since the project's launch due to privacy concerns.

WEDNESDAY’S POLL RESULTS

Are you bullish or bearish on Hims & Hers (HIMS) over the next 12 months?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🐂 Bullish

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜ 🐻 Bearish