US Stocks End Nearly Flat after Sessions on Half-Day Holiday

UNITED STATES – Most United States stock indexes finished closely flat on Tuesday, December 24, after a shortened exchanging session before Christmas.

The Nasdaq combination eked out a small gain, which extended the winning streak of its index to 10 days. It’s also pushing the index to a record high, which is already on its seventh day in one row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 ended with small losses.

The biggest losers for Tuesday are communication, health care, and industrial services stocks. These outweighed incomes in technology and bank stocks in the market.

Trading was lighter than typical throughout the half-day. It’s since the opening of the US markets, before the closure for a holiday.

As per Quincy Krosby, a chief market tactician at Prudential Financial, it’s usual to witness a little bit of profit-taking. The strategist also said that it’s expected for it to move quickly in sole direction, which is up.

There was a drop for the S&P 500, wherein it slipped 0.63 points or less than 0.1% to 3,223.38. It broke a three-day streak for the index, and it became a high hit on Monday, December 23.

The value of the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 36.08 points, which is 0.1% to 28,515.45. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq composite improved from a timely slide, earning 0.1% to 8,952.88, which is 7.24 points.

The Russel 2000 index of smaller corporation stocks managed better than others in the market, wherein it added 3.87 points, which is 0.2% to 1,678.01.

There were increases in bond prices, wherein the 10-year yield of Treasury dropped from 1.93% to 1.90%.

The modest slide of the market follows a robust streak for stocks that pushed the main indexes to high records this December. The S&P 500 index ended a weekly income in 10 out of 11 weeks.

Phase 1’s increasing positivity on the trade deal declared earlier this December between China and the US helped depositors in a purchasing mood. Fears concerning probable recession faded in the summer. It’s after the Federal Reserve amended interest rates thrice. Moreover, the central bank seems to retain these low for an extended time.

While traders turn their consideration to the year 2020, fears concerning the outlook for international economy endure, as well as concerns on unsettled exchange issues between Beijing and Washington. Next year added difficulty as well on the US presidential election.

Industrial stocks were lower, wherein Boeing had a price drop of 1.4%.

Communication and health care services stocks assisted in pulling the indexes lower, wherein Cigna dropped 1.2%, while Facebook decreased 0.5%.

Retailers, financial stocks, along with other companies that depended on consumer spending, achieved gains. Home Depot increased by 0.7%, Rosse Stores gained 0.8%, and Assurant increased by 0.9%.