Holiday Cheer Spreads Across Wall Street
The festive season got off to a flying start on Wall Street, with all major indices and sectors closing higher in a shortened session ahead of the Christmas holiday. The market’s optimism was palpable, with the S&P 500 climbing 1% and extending its gains for a third consecutive session following last week’s volatile Federal Reserve meeting.
Tech Stocks Lead the Charge
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 gained 1.3%, nearly erasing last week’s losses. Consumer discretionary stocks, the top-performing sector of the year, led the rally amid light trading volumes. Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) stole the show, surging 7.35% and marking its strongest single-day performance since November.
Other Standout Performers
Other notable gainers in the S&P 500 included Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT), Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ:SBUX), and Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), up 2.4%, 2.8%, and 2.5% respectively. The U.S. dollar index posted modest gains, with the greenback hovering near over one-year highs against the euro.
Treasury Yields and Commodities
Treasury yields remained stable, with the 10-year benchmark at 4.6%, the highest level since May. In commodities, gold edged up 0.4%, while oil prices rose 0.7%. Risk appetite returned to the cryptocurrency market following recent volatility, as Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) jumped 4% to over $98,000.
Crypto-Related Stocks Soar
This rally buoyed crypto-related stocks, including Microstrategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR), MARA Digital Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA), and Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN), all posting notable gains.
Major Indices
| Index | Price | 1-day %chg |
| — | — | — |
| Nasdaq 100 | 21,771.80 | 1.3% |
| S&P 500 | 6,032.64 | 1.0% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,254.99 | 0.8% |
| Dow Jones | 43,239.42 | 0.8% |
ETF Performance
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) rose 1.1% to $601.01. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) rose 0.8% to $432.44. The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) rallied 1.3% to $529.94. The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) rose 1% to $223.46. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLY) outperformed, up by 2.3%; the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLU) lagged, up 0.5%.
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