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Large-cap indices close higher before Christmas
24-Dec-20 13:20 ET
Dow +70.04 at 30199.81, Nasdaq +33.62 at 12804.74, S&P +13.05 at 3703.06

https://www.briefing.com/stock-market-update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 advanced 0.4% on this shortened Christmas Eve session. The Nasdaq Composite (+0.3%) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.2%) also posted modest gains, while the Russell 2000 (-0.2%) closed lower after opening at a fresh all-time high.

Ten of the 11 S&P 500 sectors finished in positive territory, although there was a shade of defensiveness ahead of the extended holiday break.

Growth-oriented heavyweights like Apple (AAPL 131.97, +1.01, +0.8%) and Tesla (TSLA 661.77, +15.79, +2.4%) exerted influential leadership, the defensive-oriented information technology (+0.8%), real estate (+0.8%), and utilities (+0.7%) sectors were among the biggest gainers, and U.S. Treasuries ticked higher.

The energy sector (-0.6%) was the lone holdout after outperforming yesterday. Other cyclical sectors had struggled with modest losses for most of the day, but buyers stepped into the market before the close to help these sectors recoup intraday losses. Notably, declining issues still outpaced advancing issues at the Nasdaq.

One of the bigger stories today in terms of stock impact came out of China. Specifically, Chinese regulators launched an anti-monopoly investigation against Alibaba (BABA 222.00, -24.18, -13.3%), sending BABA shares down 13.3% at the New York Stock Exchange.

In other interesting developments, the UK and EU finalized a post-Brexit trade agreement, House Speaker Pelosi scheduled a full House vote on Monday to increase stimulus checks to $2000 from $600 after a unanimous consent resolution in the House was blocked, and there was chatter about President Trump possibly delaying the stimulus/government funding bills with a pocket veto.

The 10-yr yield was down three basis points at 0.93% ahead of the bond market close at 2:00 p.m. ET, while the 2-yr yield was down two basis points to 0.11%. The U.S. Dollar Index was down 0.1% to 90.32. WTI crude futures were up 0.3% to $48.24/bbl.

Investors did not receive any economic data on Thursday and won't receive any until next Tuesday when the Consumer Confidence Index for December is released by the Conference Board.

Nasdaq Composite +42.7% YTD
Russell 2000 +20.1% YTD
S&P 500 +14.6% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +5.8% YTD

Market Snapshot
Dow 30199.81 +70.04 (0.23%)
Nasdaq 12804.74 +33.62 (0.26%)
SP 500 3703.06 +13.05 (0.35%)
10-yr Note +1/32 0.936
NYSE Adv 1891 Dec 1199 Vol 381.1 mln
Nasdaq Adv 1778 Dec 1910 Vol 3.2 bln

Industry Watch
Strong: Information Technology, Real Estate, Utilities, Materials
Weak: Energy, Financials, Industrials

Moving the Market

-- Positive day for the large-cap indices before Christmas

-- Defensive mindset ahead of extended holiday break

-- Stock market closed early at 1:00 p.m. ET

Defensive-oriented sectors outpace cyclical sectors
24-Dec-20 12:30 ET
Dow +2.72 at 30132.49, Nasdaq +3.72 at 12774.84, S&P +2.97 at 3692.98

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 is trading higher by 0.1% with 30 minutes left in the trading session. One last look at the S&P 500 sectors shows a divergence between defensive sectors and cyclical sectors.

Namely, the information technology (+0.4%), real estate (+0.4%), and consumer staples (+0.2%) sectors have the slight advantage, while the energy (-0.7%), financials (-0.3%), and industrials (-0.3%) sectors lag.

WTI crude futures are currently trading little changed at $48.12/bbl.