Markets

United States Stocks Continue December Rally, S&P 500 Nears All-Time High\n\nUnited States equities continued their December rally following the Christmas break, with the S&P 500 rising 0.4% and nearing its all-time high. The Dow Jones also gained as the Santa Rally gathered pace, with Manchester United stock popping and Cathie Wood snapping up a plunging stock. The market is showing positive momentum as we enter the final week of 2023, with expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates as soon as March.\n\nThe S&P 500 touched its highest intraday level since January 2022, and all three major United States stock indexes are on track for monthly, quarterly, and annual gains. Interest rate sensitive megacap stocks and chip shares led the upward momentum. This comes after the three indexes notched their eighth straight weekly gains, their longest winning streaks in years, as economic data indicated inflation is easing down closer to the Fed’s average annual 2% target.\n\nAccording to Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York, the momentum remains towards the upside, but a strong rally is unlikely in light trading. He also notes that if inflation continues to move down in January and February, there is a good chance that the Fed may cut rates earlier than anticipated.\n\nThe S&P 500 is on track to post its biggest quarterly gain in three years and is within 0.5% of its all-time closing high reached in January 2022. Closing above that level would confirm the benchmark index has been in a bull market since touching the bear market nadir in October 2022. The market’s eight-week rally shifted into overdrive two weeks ago after the Fed signaled the end of its rate hike cycle and opened the door to potential rate cuts in 2024.\n\nAll 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 ended in the green, with energy shares enjoying the heftiest percentage gain. This was boosted by surging crude prices as Middle East strife ratcheted up supply concerns, while optimism over Fed rate cuts fueled demand hopes. In company news, shares of Manchester United rose 3.4% after billionaire Jim Ratcliffe struck a long-awaited deal to buy a 25% stake in the soccer club at $33 per share. Gracell Biotechnologies also surged 60.3% after AstraZeneca announced its plans to buy the China-based firm for up to $1.2 billion. Intel Corp rose 5.2% following the Israeli government’s agreement to endow a $3.2 billion grant for a $25 billion plant the chipmaker plans to build in southern Israel.\n\nThe United States stock market is showing positive momentum as we enter the final week of 2023. The S&P 500 is nearing its all-time high, and all three major indexes are on track for monthly, quarterly, and annual gains.

“United States Stocks Continue December Rally, S&P 500 Nears All-Time High\n\nUnited States equities continued their December rally following the Christmas break, with the S&P 500 rising 0.4% and nearing its all-time high. The Dow Jones also gained as the Santa Rally gathered pace, with Manchester United stock popping and Cathie Wood snapping up a plunging stock. The market is showing positive momentum as we enter the final week of 2023, with expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates as soon as March.\n\nThe S&P 500 touched its highest intraday level since January 2022, and all three major United States stock indexes are on track for monthly, quarterly, and annual gains. Interest rate sensitive megacap stocks and chip shares led the upward momentum. This comes after the three indexes notched their eighth straight weekly gains, their longest winning streaks in years, as economic data indicated inflation is easing down closer to the Fed’s average annual 2% target.\n\nAccording to Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York, the momentum remains towards the upside, but a strong rally is unlikely in light trading. He also notes that if inflation continues to move down in January and February, there is a good chance that the Fed may cut rates earlier than anticipated.\n\nThe S&P 500 is on track to post its biggest quarterly gain in three years and is within 0.5% of its all-time closing high reached in January 2022. Closing above that level would confirm the benchmark index has been in a bull market since touching the bear market nadir in October 2022. The market’s eight-week rally shifted into overdrive two weeks ago after the Fed signaled the end of its rate hike cycle and opened the door to potential rate cuts in 2024.\n\nAll 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 ended in the green, with energy shares enjoying the heftiest percentage gain. This was boosted by surging crude prices as Middle East strife ratcheted up supply concerns, while optimism over Fed rate cuts fueled demand hopes. In company news, shares of Manchester United rose 3.4% after billionaire Jim Ratcliffe struck a long-awaited deal to buy a 25% stake in the soccer club at $33 per share. Gracell Biotechnologies also surged 60.3% after AstraZeneca announced its plans to buy the China-based firm for up to $1.2 billion. Intel Corp rose 5.2% following the Israeli government’s agreement to endow a $3.2 billion grant for a $25 billion plant the chipmaker plans to build in southern Israel.\n\nThe United States stock market is showing positive momentum as we enter the final week of 2023. The S&P 500 is nearing its all-time high, and all three major indexes are on track for monthly, quarterly, and annual gains.”$INTC2023-12-27T17:37:17.863Z

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