U.S. stocks notch 69th record close of the year
BNN Bloomberg
U.S. stocks rose for a fourth day in thin trading as investors evaluated prospects for a year-end rally amid spiking coronavirus cases. Oil gained and the Treasury curve flattened.
U.S. stocks rose for a fourth day in thin trading as investors evaluated prospects for a year-end rally amid spiking coronavirus cases. Oil gained and the Treasury curve flattened.
The S&P 500 ended Monday near session highs, posting the 69th record close for 2021 with all major industry groups advancing. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 jumped 1.6 per cent, outperforming other benchmarks. Oil climbed back above US$75 a barrel in New York for the first time in a month. The two-year yield stayed higher after an auction while rates in the long end slipped.
“We like this, we love to see the Santa Claus rally continue,” Victoria Greene, founding partner and chief investment officer at G Squared Private Wealth, said on Bloomberg TV. “And I think the ability of equity markets to climb the wall of worry should not be underestimated.”
An annual event known as the “Santa Claus rally” kicked off Monday. Since 1969, the S&P 500 index has averaged a gain of 1.3 per cent over the seven-day period, which includes the last five trading sessions of the year and the first two trading days of the new year, according to The Stock Trader’s Almanac.
Megacap stocks contributed the most to the S&P 500 gains, with Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Meta Platforms Inc., the Facebook parent company, among top performers. Tesla Inc. capped its biggest gain over four days since March.
