NEW YORK (Reuters) – The S&P 500 ended high at the close of an abbreviated session on Thursday, with investors entering the long Christmas weekend with the hope that an impending stimulus deal, a Brexit deal and the ongoing vaccine launch will mean better days in next year.
All three major US stock indices ended in positive territory.
For the shortened week of the holiday, the S&P 500 fell, the Dow reached a nominal gain and the Nasdaq advanced.
While stocks tend to perform well in the last days of December, a phenomenon known as the rise of Santa Claus, the resurgence of the pandemic and the Senate’s second round in Georgia have clouded the outlook this year.
The U.S. House of Representatives blocked President Donald Trump’s attempt to change a $ 2.3 trillion coronavirus aid package and government spending after Trump insisted on $ 2,000 in direct payments to Americans.
The move cast doubt on whether the package approved by Congress on Monday would be turned into law and raised the threat of partial government shutdown.
“If (the stimulus) is not approved in one way or another, it could have serious consequences for the unemployed,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
Britain reached a trade agreement with the European Union after months of negotiations, just days before leaving one of the largest trading blocs in the world.
“(The Brexit business) may be acting as a buffer for the market, in the sense that it is neutralizing the negativity of the stagnant stimulus law,” added Cardillo.
More than a million Americans have already been vaccinated against COVID-19, even as the pandemic continues to rage in the United States and political leaders are taking action to protect themselves against a more contagious variant of the disease that strikes Britain.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 70.04 points, or 0.23%, to 30,199.87, the S&P 500 gained 13.05 points, or 0.35%, to 3,703.06 and the Nasdaq Composite added 33, 62 points, or 0.26%, to 12,804.73.
Ten of the 11 main sectors of the S&P 500 registered gains, led by the real estate sector. Energy was the only loser.
Alibaba Group’s shares fell 13.3% on news that China had launched an investigation into the company as part of its antitrust crackdown.
American Airlines Group Inc. said it is moving forward with plans to call redundant workers back, even though payroll protection, part of the stimulus package, was in doubt. Its shares fell 1.4%
Moderna Inc said it expects its coronavirus vaccine to be effective against a new variant of the disease discovered in Britain. Even so, its shares closed down 5.3%.
Altimmune Inc fell 9.3% after the Food and Drug Administration issued a clinical suspension of the company’s order to start human testing of its single-dose vaccine COVID-19, AdCOVID.
Early issues exceeded decreasing ones on the NYSE by a ratio of 1.53 to 1; on the Nasdaq, a 1.08 to 1 ratio favored the declines.
The S&P 500 recorded 7 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 138 new highs and 5 new lows.
The volume on the US stock exchanges was 6.14 billion shares, compared to an average of 11.30 billion in the last 20 trading days.
Stephen Culp reporting; Aurora Ellis Edition