U.S. stocks closed firmly higher Tuesday, while the dollar tested the highest levels in two years, as shrugged off another jump in Treasury yields and rode solid gains for megacap tech stocks to a extend the early Santa Claus rally.
The S&P 500 ended 66 points, or 1.1% higher on the session while the Nasdaq gained 266 points and the Dow surged 390 points to extend its winning streak to a fourth straight day.
Updated at 10:53 AM EST
Tesla (TSLA) is leading gains for the megacap tech names heading into the final hours of the holiday-shortened session, with shares up 4.8% to extend the stock’s post-election surge to around 85%.
The gains are driving the Nasdaq was last marked 198 points higher, or 1%, with the S&P 500 rising 44 points, or 0.7%
Updated at 9:39 AM EST
The S&P 500 was marked 13 points, or 0.21% in the opening minutes of trading, with the Nasdaq rising 76 points, or 0.39%.
The Dow slipped 5 points while the mid-cap Russell 2000 edged 3 points, or 0.1% lower.
Updated at 9:18 AM EST
U.S. banks stocks were in focus Tuesday following a lawsuit filed by the American Bankers Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that challenges what the lobby groups have called the “opaque aspects” of the Federal Reserve’s industry stress tests.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Columbus, Ohio, follows planned changes to the Fed’s stress tests, which were established in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis and are used to ultimately determine how banks can return their capital to shareholders.
The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund, the biggest and most-active bank stock ETF, was marked 0.1% higher in premarket trading at $48.47 per unit.
Updated at 7:24 AM EST
American Airlines Group (AAL) shares slumped in early trading after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said it had grounded all of the carrier’s domestic flights following a ‘technical issue’ on one of the busiest travel days of the year.
American Airlines shares were marked 3.8% lower in premarket trading to indicate an opening bell price of $16.67 each.
Stock Market Today
Markets are scheduled to close at 1:00 pm Eastern time today, and will remain closed on Wednesday, as part of the traditional Christmas observances on Wall Street.
Stocks ended firmly higher on Monday, with the S&P 500 rising 0.73%, as the broadest benchmark of bluechip shares was powered by solid advances in megacap tech stocks that offset a selloff on Treasury bonds.
Wall Street hasn’t yet banished the Grinch from its holiday plans, but the end-of-year Santa Claus rally got off to a fine start on Monday.
Benchmark 10-year notes yields briefly touched 4.6% in Monday trading, and were last marked at 4.597% heading into the start of the New York trading session, even after a solid auction of $69 billion in 2-year notes that drew hefty participation from foreign investors.
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The higher Treasury yields, which pegged 2-year notes at 4.343% in overnight trading, pushed the U.S. dollar index 0.17% higher to 108.174 against a basket of its global peers, near the highest levels since late 2022.
Stocks are likely to remain muted throughout today’s short session, however, as premarket volumes are light and a large swath of European markets are closed outright for the region’s traditional Christmas Eve celebrations.
On Wall Street, futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 suggest a modest 5 point opening bell gain, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average called 7 points lower. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, is priced for a 34 point gain.
United States Steel (X) shares were a notable early mover, falling 3.4% in premarket after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States failed to reach an agreement on the group’s proposed takeover by Nippon Steel of Japan, leaving the ultimate decision to President Joe Biden.
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In Europe, the regional Stoxx 600 benchmark rose 0.42% in Frankfurt while Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.53% in thin London trading.
Overnight in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.32% in Tokyo while the MSCI ex-Japan benchmark edged 0.35% higher into the close of trading.
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