Stocks rose slightly on Wednesday amid renewed vaccine optimism while traders looked for clues on additional fiscal stimulus.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 73.89 points, or 0.2%, to 30,409.56. The 30-stock average eked out a record closing high. The S&P 500 climbed 0.1% to 3,732.04, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.2% to close at 12,870. Wednesday marked the fourth positive session in five for both the Dow and S&P 500.
With just one trading day left in the year, the major averages were on track to end 2020 higher. The Dow is up 6.6% for the year, while the S&P 500 has gained 15.5%. But the clear year-to-date winner remains the Nasdaq Composite, which has gained 43.4%.
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31 Dec, 2020 - Dow rises nearly 200 points, hits record high to wrap up wild 2020
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 rose to all-time highs on Thursday as Wall Street wrapped up one of the most volatile years for the market in recent memory.
The Dow closed 196.92 points higher, or 0.7%, at 30,606.48. The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% to 3,756.07, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.1% to 12,888.28. The major averages hit their session highs with less than one hour left of trading.
Thursday’s moves came after the release of a better-than-expected reading on U.S. weekly jobless claims. The number of first-time unemployment-benefits filers totaled 787,000 for the week ending Dec. 26, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists polled by Dow Jones were expecting a print of 828,000.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 43.6% this year, posting its best one-year performance since 2009. The S&P 500 closed 2020 with a 16.3% gain. The Dow rose 7.3% in 2020.
Those gains came amid sharp daily moves that kept even the most seasoned investors on their toes throughout the year.
The S&P 500 closed up or down at least 1% in 110 of this year’s 253 trading days, compared to just 38 days in 2019. Those 110 daily swings include two rallies of more than 9% in March as well as a 12% drop in the same month.
Reference: CNBC
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