[BRIEFING.COM] 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.

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.4%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.2%), and DJIA (+0.6%) are holding at session highs as the market enters the final half hour of the session. The stock market will close at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Though the information technology sector (+0.3%) holds just a modest gain today, Micron (MU 286.56, +10.29, +3.72%) continues its impressive post-earnings rally after reporting its Q1 2026 earnings a week ago. The stock is up 7.8% this week, adding to double-digit gains last week that seat the stock with a 21.2% month-to-date gain. 

Memory storage peer Sandisk (SNDK 250.74, +5.84, +2.39%) has traded higher in tandem with Micron over the past week and holds a solid gain again today. 

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages chart session highs as the market enters the final hour of today's action. 

U.S. Treasuries have also reached fresh highs in reaction to the just-completed $44 billion 7-year note sale, which met better demand than note sales from the past two days. Today's offering drew a high yield of 3.930%, which stopped through the when-issued yield by 0.3 basis points while the bid-to-cover ratio (2.51x vs 2.58x average) and indirect takedown (59.0% vs 66.8%) were below average.

The 2-year note yield is down one basis point to 3.52%, and the 10-year note yield is down three basis points to 4.14%. 

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market has seen muted action on this Christmas Eve session, though the S&P 500 (+0.2%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.1%), and DJIA (+0.5%) have steadily ticked higher throughout the morning, which resulted in a fresh all-time high for the S&P 500. 

Participation is broad, with eight S&P 500 sectors trading higher. 

The defensive consumer staples (+0.6%), health care (+0.5%), and utilities (+0.2%) are among the top performers today after lagging in yesterday's action. 

Meanwhile, the financials sector (+0.5%) has seen a continuation of yesterday's strength in major banking names, with several trading at 52-week highs today. 

Mega-cap tech names, which underscored yesterday's index-level gains, are mixed today. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF is up a modest 0.1%, with NVIDIA (NVDA 187.78, -1.43, -0.76%) and Alphabet (GOOG 314.73, -0.95, -0.30%) giving back some of yesterday's gains. Tesla (TSLA 481.08, -4.48, -0.92%) is a notable laggard.  

Outside of the S&P 500, the Russell 2000 (+0.2%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (-0.2%) sit mixed.

[BRIEFING.COM] The Nasdaq Composite has reclaimed its flatline, while the S&P 500 (+0.2%) and DJIA (+0.4%) tick modestly higher. 

Tesla (TSLA 478.53, -7.03, -1.45%) is a laggard today, with shares trading lower after the Office of Defects Investigation received a petition requesting a defect investigation into the mechanical door release on the 2022 Tesla Model 3. The petition cites allegations that the mechanical door release is hidden, unlabeled, and not intuitive to locate during an emergency.

The consumer discretionary sector is flat, while eight S&P 500 sectors trade higher. 

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.1%), Nasdaq Composite (-0.1%), and DJIA (+0.3%) are little changed from their opening levels. 

The consumer staples sector (+0.6%) is a standout this morning, supported by a solid gain from Costco (COST 871.35, +16.56, +1.94%) after the stock was upgraded to Buy at Northcoast Research, with a target price of $1,100.

Peers Target (TGT 95.75, +1.45, +1.54%) and Walmart (WMT 111.23, +0.33, +0.30%) also trade higher. 

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.1%) sits just above its flatline, in between a modest gain for the DJIA (+0.2%) and a slight loss for the Nasdaq Composite (-0.1%). 

Yesterday's modest rally in mega-cap tech has lost some steam, with mixed performances across the market's largest names. NVIDIA (NVDA 187.73, -1.48, -0.78%) and Alphabet (GOOG 314.32, -1.36, -0.43%), which outperformed yesterday, are modestly lower. The information technology sector is flat, while the communication services sector (-0.2%) is an early laggard.

Meanwhile, the defensive consumer staples (+0.4%) and health care (+0.3%) sectors are among the early leaders. 

At the individual stock level, NIKE (NKE 60.24, +2.90, +5.05%) is the early leader across S&P 500 names after Director Tim Cook (Apple CEO) bought 50,000 shares at $58.96 - $58.97 worth approximately $2949K. Director Robert Swan also disclosed the purchase of 8,691 shares worth approximately $500K.

The stock market is on track for a flat open to today's holiday-abbreviated session that will see the stock market close at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Initial jobless claims for the week ending December 20 decreased by 10,000 to 214,000 (Briefing.com consensus: 226,000), while continuing jobless claims for the week ending December 13 increased by 38,000 to 1.923 million.

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.

The S&P 500 futures currently trade one point below fair value.

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region had a mostly lower showing on Wednesday, but overall movement was limited. BlackRock may abandon the Panama ports deal due to China's demand for a majority stake for its main shipping company. Japan's 30-yr yield briefly hit a fresh high for the year at 3.40% after it was confirmed that debt issuance in fiscal 2026 will reach a record of JPY29.6 trln. Rate hike expectations for the Bank of Japan have receded with the likelihood of a hike by June sitting around 57%.

• In economic data:
  • Japan's November Corporate Services Price Index 2.7% yr/yr, as expected (last 2.7%). November Leading Index 109.8 (expected 11.0; last 108.6)
  • South Korea's December Consumer Confidence 109.9 (last 112.4)

---Equity Markets---

• Japan's Nikkei: -0.1%
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng: +0.2%
• China's Shanghai Composite: +0.5%
• India's Sensex: -0.1%
• South Korea's Kospi: -0.2%
• Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: -0.3%

Equity markets in Germany, Italy, and Switzerland are closed for Christmas Eve while the U.K.'s FTSE just closed early. Markets in Spain and France are also nearing their close, making for a quiet session overall. The French parliament passed a bill to keep the government running until an agreement is made on a budget for 2026 with the original deadline just a week away.

• No data today

---Equity Markets---

• STOXX Europe 600: +0.4%
• Germany's DAX: CLOSED
• U.K.'s FTSE 100: -0.2%
• France's CAC 40: flat
• Italy's FTSE MIB: CLOSED
• Spain's IBEX 35: -0.1%

The S&P 500 futures currently trade two points below fair value.

Initial jobless claims for the week ending December 20 decreased by 10,000 to 214,000 (Briefing.com consensus: 226,000).

Continuing jobless claims for the week ending December 13 increased by 38,000 to 1.923 million from a downwardly revised 1.885 million (from 1.897 million).

Equity futures point to a flat opening this morning, which is unsurprising given the market will close early at 1:00 p.m. ET for Christmas Eve. 

Yesterday's action came on lower-than-average volume, though mega-cap tech names were among the outperformers, which helped push the S&P 500 to a record closing high (6,909.79). 

A surprise in the advance Q3 GDP reading (4.3%; Briefing.com consensus 3.0%) further dimmed the market's already low expectations of additional Fed easing in the near term, though the data painted a solid picture of economic growth, helping to lift AI and other growth stocks. 

Headlines are quiet this morning, though market participants will receive the weekly initial claims report at 8:30 a.m. ET (Briefing.com consensus 226k).

The MBA Mortgage Applications Index for the week ended December 13 decreased 5.0%, from a prior decrease of 3.8%.

In corporate news:

• A federal judge sided with the Trump administration over H1B Visa $100,000 fee, according to Politico. 
• BP (BP 34.46, -0.12, -0.4%) is nearing an agreement to sell a majority controlling interest in Castrol to the investment firm Stonepeak. 
• Snowflake (SNOW 224.80, -0.30, -0.1%) is in discussions to acquire Observe, according to The Information. 

Reviewing overnight developments:

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region had a mostly lower showing on Wednesday, but overall movement was limited. Japan's Nikkei: -0.1%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng: +0.2%, China's Shanghai Composite: +0.5%, India's Sensex: -0.1%, South Korea's Kospi: -0.2%, Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: -0.3%.

In news:

• BlackRock may abandon the Panama ports deal due to China's demand for a majority stake for its main shipping company.
• Japan's 30-yr yield briefly hit a fresh high for the year at 3.40% after it was confirmed that debt issuance in fiscal 2026 will reach a record of JPY29.6 trln.
• Rate hike expectations for the Bank of Japan have receded with the likelihood of a hike by June sitting around 57%.

In economic data:

• Japan's November Corporate Services Price Index 2.7% yr/yr, as expected (last 2.7%). November Leading Index 109.8 (expected 11.0; last 108.6)
• South Korea's December Consumer Confidence 109.9 (last 112.4)

Equity markets in Germany, Italy, and Switzerland are closed for Christmas Eve while the U.K.'s FTSE just closed early. Markets in Spain and France will also close in about 90 minutes, making for a quiet session overall. STOXX Europe 600: +0.4%, Germany's DAX: CLOSED, U.K.'s FTSE 100: -0.3%, France's CAC 40: +0.1%, Italy's FTSE MIB: CLOSED, Spain's IBEX 35: +0.1%.

In news:

• The French parliament passed a bill to keep the government running until an agreement is made on a budget for 2026 with the original deadline just a week away.

There is no economic data of note today. 

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market moved steadily higher today as strength in mega-cap technology lifted the major averages alongside improving broader-market participation. 

The S&P 500 (+0.5%) notched a fresh record closing high of 6,909.79, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (+0.6%) finished slightly higher and the DJIA (+0.2%) captured a more modest gain. However, the winning streak would not continue for the smaller-cap Russell 2000 (-0.6%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (-0.3%), which finished lower after outperforming yesterday. 

The information technology sector (+1.0%) mounted a solid intraday climb from negative territory this morning, which helped the major averages move higher after largely trading flat. 

NVIDIA (NVDA 189.22, +5.53, +3.01%) and Broadcom (AVGO 349.32, +7.87, +2.30%) led the advance, though a majority of mega-cap tech names traded modestly higher. In sector-related news, the Office of the United States Trade Representative said tariffs on Chinese semiconductors will be implemented, though the rate will remain at 0% for the next 18 months.

Alphabet (GOOG 315.64, +4.31, +1.38%) was another mega-cap standout, helping the communication services sector (+1.0%) tie for the widest gain of the day. 

Of the seven S&P 500 sectors that finished higher, the energy sector (+0.6%) was the only other one to capture a gain wider than 0.3%. Crude oil futures settled today's session $0.37 higher (+0.6%) at $58.40 per barrel. 

Losses were just as modest, with the defensive consumer staples (-0.4%) and health care (-0.2%) sectors retreating the furthest while the industrials sector (-0.1%) finished just slightly lower. The real estate sector finished flat. 

Breadth steadily improved throughout the session. Decliners outpaced advancers by a roughly 2-to-1 clip on both exchanges this morning, though decliners would finish with a roughly 4-to-3 advantage on the NYSE and a roughly 7-to-4 edge on the Nasdaq. 

Still, weakness in the broader market saw the S&P 500 Equal Weighted Index (-0.3%) finish decidedly lower and underperform the market-weighted S&P 500 (+0.5%), which was a beneficiary of the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF's solid 0.7% gain. 

Today's data slate saw the advance reading of Q3 GDP (4.3%; Briefing.com consensus 3.0%) come in well ahead of expectations. The indication of strong growth at a time when the Fed has been cutting rates invited some concerns about inflation turning out to be more persistent than previously thought, which in turn saw a modest decrease in the markets' expectations for further rate cuts in the near term. 

However, the data also painted a positive picture of the economy, which helped growth stocks outperform amid the low-volume session, sending the major averages higher for the second consecutive day this week. 

U.S. Treasuries had a mixed showing on Tuesday, as the 5-year note and shorter tenors reversed from their early highs to record modest losses while the long bond finished in the green, continuing yesterday's show of relative strength. The U.S. Treasury followed yesterday's weak 2-year note sale with a 5-year note offering that was also a bit disappointing, but record direct takedown prevented an uglier outcome.

The 2-year note yield settled up two basis points to 3.53%, and the 10-year note yield finished unchanged at 4.17%. 

The market will close at 1:00 p.m. ET tomorrow for the Christmas Eve holiday.

• Nasdaq Composite: +22.0% YTD
• S&P 500: +17.5% YTD
• Russell 2000: +13.9% YTD
• DJIA: +13.9% YTD
• S&P Mid Cap 400: +7.9% YTD

Reviewing today's data:

• Q3 GDP-Adv. 4.3% (Briefing.com consensus 3.0%); Prior 3.8%, Q3 GDP Deflator-Adv. 3.8% (Briefing.com consensus 2.7%); Prior 2.1%
  • The key takeaway from the report is that the U.S. economy was certainly running on the warm side in Q3. That will stir some concerns about the Fed's recent decision to cut rates in December and the risk of stoking increased inflation in pursuit of keeping the economy on a growth trajectory.
• October Durable Orders -2.2% (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%); Prior was revised to 0.7% from 0.5%, October Durable Goods - ex transportation 0.2% (Briefing.com consensus -1.1%); Prior was revised to 0.7% from 0.6%
  • The key takeaway from the report is that it was a better indicator of growth than meets the headline eye, evidenced by the 0.7% month-over-month increase in shipments and 0.5% month-over-month increase in new orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft.
• November Industrial Production 0.2% (Briefing.com consensus 0.1%); Prior -0.1%, November Capacity Utilization 76.0% vs (Briefing.com consensus 77.4%); Prior 75.9%
  • The key takeaway from the report is that the uptick in November was driven entirely by mining output, which offset the absence of growth in manufacturing output and a 0.4% decline in utilities output.
• December Consumer Confidence 89.1 vs (Briefing.com consensus 89.0); Prior was revised to 92.9 from 88.7
  • The key takeaway from the report is that confidence sagged in December due largely to worries about labor market conditions.