The stock market had a relatively jolly Christmas Eve session today, with broad gains pushing the S&P 500 (+0.3%) to fresh intraday (6,937.32) and closing (6,932.05) highs. The DJIA (+0.6%) notched a record closing high (48,731.16) of its own, while subdued performances across tech names saw the Nasdaq Composite (+0.2%) close with a more modest gain. 

Ten S&P 500 sectors finished higher, though gains were modest for the most part. 

The consumer staples sector (+0.8%) was a top mover amid a relatively strong day for defensive sectors that also saw the health care (+0.5%) and utilities (+0.6%) sectors notch solid gains. Costco (COST 871.86, +17.07, +2.00%) was a top performer, moving higher after the stock was upgraded to Buy at Northcoast Research, with a target price of $1,100.

Elsewhere, the financials sector (+0.5%) saw a continuation of strength in its banking names, while the real estate sector (+0.7%) also captured a nice gain. 

Yesterday's mega-cap rally fizzled out a bit, with the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (+0.2%) closing with just a modest gain. NVIDIA (NVDA 188.61, -0.60, -0.32%) gave back some of yesterday's strength, while Tesla (TSLA 485.40, -0.16, -0.03%) and Alphabet (GOOG 315.67, -0.01, +0.00%) finished flat. 

The top-weighted information technology sector (+0.2%) finished modestly higher, with Micron (MU 286.68, +10.41, +3.77%) leading the strength as it continues to rally following its earnings last week. 

Only the energy sector (-0.3%) finished lower.

Corporate flow was unsurprisingly light given the early holiday closure today. NIKE (NKE 60.00, +2.66, +4.65%) was the top-performing S&P 500 name following news that Tim Cook (Apple CEO and Nike director) bought 50,000 shares, worth $2.95 million. 

Though the action was subdued and the volume was low, the major averages remain positioned at record high levels as the broader market trends in an upwards direction into the end of the year. 

The market will be closed tomorrow for the Christmas holiday. 

The Treasury market will close at 2:00 pm today, with the entire complex sitting at session highs following a $44 billion 7-year note sale that was met with solid demand. The 2-year note yield is down two basis points to 3.51%, and the 10-year note yield is down four basis points to 4.13%.

• Nasdaq Composite: +22.3% YTD
• S&P 500: +17.9% YTD
• DJIA: +14.5% YTD
• Russell 2000: +14.2% YTD
• S&P Mid Cap 400: +8.2% YTD

Reviewing today's data:

• Weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index -5.0%; Prior -3.8%
• Weekly Initial Claims 214K (Briefing.com consensus 226K); Prior 224K, Weekly Continuing Claims 1.923 mln; Prior was revised to 1.885 mln from 1.897 mln
  • The key takeaway from the report is the redundancy of the messaging that low initial claims and high continuing claims connote a low firing-low hiring environment that is a speedbump for growth prospects.