Wall Street kicks off 2025 in the red

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq begin the year in the red - their fifth-straight negative session. However, the dollar extends its rally into 2025 with the index hitting a two-year high. President Biden is expected to officially announce he is blocking the proposed $15bn takeover of U.S. Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel. Outnumbered by security forces, South Korean prosecutors abandon their attempt to execute an arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over last month’s imposition of martial law.  And in autos news, Tesla shares fall more than one per cent on the year after the EV maker posted its first decline in annual deliveries.