Stocks rose on Monday to begin a holiday-shortened trading week, with technology stocks driving market gains. The S&P 500 climbed 0.73% to 5,974.07, while the Nasdaq Composite surged 0.98% to 19,764.89, fueled by gains in Tesla, Meta Platforms, and Nvidia. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded from earlier losses, closing up 66.69 points, or 0.16%, at 42,906.95.
Trading volume was light, with the New York Stock Exchange closing early on Tuesday for Christmas Eve at 1 p.m. ET and the market shut on Christmas Day. Sentiment was briefly dampened by weaker-than-expected economic data, including a drop in the Conference Board's consumer confidence index for December and a 1.1% decline in durable goods orders for November, marking the largest drop since June. Despite this, the market managed to recover.
December has been a challenging month, with the Dow down 4.5% and the S&P 500 off nearly 1%. However, the Nasdaq Composite has outperformed, rising 2.8% this month. Investors have also found some relief after President Joe Biden signed a funding bill to prevent a government shutdown, ensuring federal agencies will remain open into the new year.
Looking ahead, some investors are hopeful for a "Santa Claus rally" in the final days of the year. Historically, the S&P 500 has gained 1.3% during the last five trading days of the year and the first two days of January, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac. The second half of December has also been strong for U.S. equities, particularly in presidential election years.
“With the market’s primary uptrends still intact, we are not giving up on the potential for a Santa Claus to come to Broad & Wall this year,” said Craig Johnson, chief market technician at Piper Sandler.
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