1 million people in Times Square, New York...What is the economic outlook for the new year?

[Anchor]
A countdown to the 120-year-old New Year is being held in Times Square, New York, the United States.

More than 1 million people gathered to watch the so-called "ball drop" event where a super-large ball falls.

Connect the reporters who are on the scene. Correspondent Lee Seungyoon!

[Reporter]
Yes, it's New York.

[Anchor]
Times Square in New York is a world-class countdown attraction, and it's packed, right?

[Reporter]
Yes, it is.

The New Year's Day celebration in Times Square, New York, has been going on for 120 years.

Times Square itself is also a popular tourist destination with 50 million visitors every year, but New Year's Eve visitors average more than 1 million.

At midnight on January 1, the annual tradition of Times Square, the Ball Drop, will take place.A six-ton crystal ball, decorated with 2,688 crystal triangles, falls along a 42m-tall column above the

One Times Square building to reveal the numbers for the following year.

The Americans I met today were hoping that various wishes, including world peace and the happiness of their families, would come true in the new year.

Let's listen to it for ourselves.

[Mendel / American: I just hope 2025 will be a year full of peace and goodwill and kindness around the world]

[Amber/American: (What's your wish for the new year?) Happiness, kindness, and health.]

[Anchor]
The New York Stock Exchange closed lower on the last trading day of 2024.

What is the U.S. economic outlook for the new year?

[Reporter]
With the AI boom and the first U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut in three-and-a-half years driving the market, the New York stock market hit a historic high in 2024.

However, the three major indexes closed weaker all at once on the last trading day of 2024, as the pace of rate cuts is expected to be adjusted in the new year.

On the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones 30 Industrial Average closed at 42,544.22, down 29.51 points (-0.07%) from the previous session.

The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 Index closed at 5,881.63, down 25.31 points (-0.43%) from the previous session, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 19,310.79, down 175.99 points (-0.90%) from the previous session.

The S&P 500 index of large New York stock market stocks had an annual return of 23% through the last day of 2024.

On January 20, the first month of the new year, the second Trump administration will be launched.

As Trump has predicted tariff bombs and illegal immigrant deportations, some predict that it will affect raising U.S. prices.

In addition, it is predicted that the Trump administration's deregulation and strategic stockpiling will lead to a strong cryptocurrency, raising the price per unit to $200,000 in Bitcoin.

In line with the era of the second Trump administration, the U.S. economy is expected to experience a major change in 2025.

I'm YTN's Lee Seungyoon from New York.