Stocks climbed in the US on Monday as the market kicked off a holiday-shortened trading week, buoyed by strength in technology shares. The S&P 500 rose 0.73% to 5,974.07, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.98% to 19,764.89. Leading the charge were tech heavyweights Tesla and Meta Platforms, each up over 2%, with Nvidia climbing more than 3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average managed a modest increase of 66.69 points, or 0.16%, closing at 42,906.95 after recovering from earlier losses.
Trading volumes were light, a trend expected to persist as markets close early Tuesday for Christmas Eve and remain shut on Christmas Day. Earlier in the session, disappointing economic data weighed on sentiment. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index dropped to 104.7, its lowest since September, missing forecasts of 113.0. Durable goods orders also fell 1.1% in November, marking the steepest decline since June.
The Dow, down 4.5% for December, has endured a volatile month, including a 10-day losing streak not seen since 1974. However, the Nasdaq bucked the trend, up 2.8% month to date, supported by tech sector gains. Investors are cautiously optimistic about a potential "Santa Claus rally", historically boosting markets in the year's final trading days.
Turning to currencies, one Australian dollar at 8:30 was buying 62.51 US cents, 60.06 Euro cents and 98.22 Yen.
The SPI futures are pointing to a 5 point or 0.06% rise.
Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap, Marketech.DisclaimerThe views, opinions or recommendations of the commentators in this presentation are solely those of the author and do not in any way reflect the views, opinions, recommendations, of Sequoia Financial Group Limited ABN 90 091 744 884 and its related bodies corporate (“SEQ”). SEQ makes no representation or warranty with respect to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the content. Any prices published are accurate subject to the time of filming and shouldn’t be relied upon to make a financial decision. Commentators may hold positions in stocks mentioned and companies may pay FNN to produce the content at times. The content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Independent advice should be obtained from an Australian Financial Services Licensee before making investment decisions. To the extent permitted by law, SEQ excludes all liability for any loss or damage arising in any way including by way of negligence.
