Stocks Jumps To Near Record High After Key Data
5:19 pm Thursday, December 23rd, 2021
US stocks finished higher Thursday, with the S&P 500 closing at a record high before the Christmas break after investors sifted through a big batch of economic data that included weekly jobless claims holding steady as the Omicron variant spreads.
Ten of the 11 S&P 500 sectors are contributing to the advance, with the consumer discretionary (+1.2%), industrials (+1.2%), communication services (+1.0%), and materials (+1.0%) sectors each up by at least 1.0%. The real estate sector is the exception with a 0.7% decline.
Tesla (TSLA) is driving the outperformance of the consumer discretionary sector with a 5.5% gain, bringing the stock back above its 50-day moving average (1038).
Earlier today, investors received a big batch of data, spanning personal income and spending figures, weekly jobless claims, new home sales, consumer sentiment, and durable goods orders. For the most part, it was good, although the inflation component of the personal income and spending report was on the hotter side of expectations.
The core PCE Price Index, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.5% m/m in November (Briefing.com consensus 0.4%) and was up 4.7% yr/yr.
The Treasury market is seeing some curve-steepening activity, which has given the bank stocks some support amid the potential for increased profitability. The SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE) is up 0.9%, besting the 0.6% gain in the S&P 500 financials sector (+0.6%).
The 2-yr yield is up two basis points to 0.68%, and the 10-yr yield is up three basis points to 1.49%. The U.S. Dollar Index is down 0.1% to 96.03.
As an aside, trading volume is a bit on the lighter side at the NYSE (229 mln shares) with many market participants likely checked out for the holidays. The reduced volume could lead to some intraday swings before the close, but so far, the price action has been relatively tight-ranged.
