U.S. stocks closed higher on Tuesday as the Santa Claus Rally kicked off. The Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended the day in green.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.9% or 390.08 points to close at 43,297.03. Within the 30-stock index, 28 components ended in positive territory, while two ended in negative.
The major gainer in Dow was Walmart Inc. WMT. The stock price of this multinational retail company rose 2.6%. Walmart currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You Can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 266.24 points or 1.4% to 20,031.13.
The S&P 500 gained 1.1%, or 65.97 points, to end at 6,040.04. All 11 broad sectors of the benchmark index closed in the positive territory. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY), the Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF) and the Technology Sector SPDR (XLK) rose 2.3%, 1.2%, and 1%, respectively.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) decreased 15% to 14.27.
The New York Stock Exchange closed early at 1.00 pm ET on Christmas Eve. Tuesday marked the beginning of the “Santa Claus rally,” which spans the last five trading days of the year and the first two of January. This rally is usually based on optimism, the Christmas holiday and the general positive outlook of the market at the beginning of a new year.
The Santa Claus rally before year-end boosts market mood, allowing investors to assess the performance for the year and next year’s prospects.
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