- US stocks were mostly higher on Tuesday, led by the tech sector.
- Today marks the start of the Santa Claus trading window, a historically bullish 7-day stretch.
- The stock market will close at 1 p.m. for a shortened trading session due to Christmas Eve.
US stocks were mostly higher on Tuesday led by gains in technology stocks.
The bump comes amid a shortened trading session for Christmas Eve, which also happens to mark the official start of the Santa Claus trading window — a historically bullish period for stocks during the last five trading days of the year and the first two trading days of the new year.
The stock market is set to close at 1 p.m. and will be closed on Wednesday for Christmas. The bond market, which is also closed on Wednesday, will wrap up at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
Investors have no economic data to analyze on Tuesday, but they will be watching for the release of initial jobless claims on Thursday morning. Economists expect 225,000 initial jobless claims, slightly higher than last week’s reading of 220,000.
Historical data dating back to 1950 shows that the S&P 500 has posted an average return of 1.3% and is positive 79% of the time during the Santa Claus trading window.
The average gain during the Santa Claus trading window is even stronger, at 1.6%, when including stock returns going back to 1928, according to data from Bank of America.
Here’s where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Tuesday:
- S&P 500: 5,982.87, up 0.14%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 42,892.81, down 0.03% (-10 points)
- Nasdaq composite: 19,838..09, up 0.40%
Here’s what else is going on:
- American Airlines briefly grounded all of its flights on Tuesday due to a technical glitch.
- The probability of a US recession in 2025 is 0%, according to a top economist.
- Consumer confidence dropped to near-recession levels ahead of Donald Trump’s second administration.
- Here is a complete rundown of Wall Street’s 2025 S&P 500 targets.
