Stock market news: December 24, 2019 – Yahoo Finance

Stock News

Posted on December 24, 2019

U.S. stocks ticked down slightly during a holiday-shortened session, taking a pause from a December rally in the three major indices.

Here were the main moves in markets, as of 11:39 a.m. ET:

S&P 500 (^GSPC): -0.03%, or 0.95 points
Dow (^DJI): -0.11%, or 30.06 points
Nasdaq (^IXIC): +0.04%, or 4.03 points
10-year Treasury yield (^TNX): -1.8 bps to 1.917%
Gold (GC=F): +1.01% to $1,503.80 per ounce

Boeing (BA) shares pared some gains a day after announcing the exit of CEO Dennis Muilenburg, which came nine months after the second of two deadly crashes of the 737 Max aircraft.

Meanwhile, BMW’s American depository receipts (BMWYY) ended Monday’s session 1.3% lower after reports the automaker was being investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into whether it had inflated its sales numbers. And Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) extended Monday’s near 3% gain after RBC Capital raised its price target on the semiconductor stock to the highest level on Wall Street.

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 30: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) ahead of the closing bell, November 30, 2017 in New York City. On Thursday afternoon, the Dow closed at over 24,000 points for the first time in its history. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) — NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 30: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) ahead of the closing bell. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Tuesday’s equity trading session will end early in light of the holidays. The U.S. stock market will close at 1 p.m. ET, and credit markets will close at 2 p.m. Both markets will be closed Wednesday in observance of Christmas Day.

The abbreviated session also marks the start of the so-called Santa Claus rally period, which extends over the final five trading days of the calendar year and into the first two of the new year. During this period, S&P 500 gains have averaged 1.3% in the years since 1950. The blue-chip index gained more than 4% during the window last year, even amid a crushing fourth-quarter stock sell-off.

The S&P 500 has gained 28.6% for the year to date through Monday’s close. Assuming these gains hold through the closing bell on December 31, it would mark the best rate of return since 2013, when the S&P 500 rose 29.6%, excluding dividends.

The Information Tech sector has outperformed this year, gaining 47.19% thus far and putting it on track for its best year since 2009 when gains totaled 59.92%. The best-performing stock in the S&P 500 so far has been Advanced Micro Devices with a gain of 146.26%.

Meanwhile, the Energy sector has lagged, gaining just 7.83% for the year to date amid a year of depressed oil prices. And Abiomed (ABMD), a maker of medical implant equipment, has been the worst-performer in the blue-chip index so far, losing 47.56% through Monday.

With 2019 coming to a close, Wall Street has begun to turn its attention to to 2020. Based on an analysis of 23 equity strategists, the most bullish firm believes the S&P 500 will rise 11.7% from Monday’s close through the end of 2020 to reach 3,600. A couple of the most bearish strategists, on the other hand, see the index closing at 3,000, or 6.9% lower. The Street average price target of 3,333 implies a 3.4% gain through next year.