Volume continues to taper off ahead of the long holiday weekend. As a reminder, both the stock and bond markets will be closed Monday for New Year's Day. Today, though, market participants who stuck around were watching the S&P 500 as it closed in on a new all-time high.
In intraday trading, the S&P 500 climbed as high as 4,793.30, a stone's throw away from its all-time closing high of 4,796.56 from January 3, 2022. The broad-market index finished just below here, at 4,783, up 0.04% on the day.
The blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, rose 0.1% to 37,710 – a new record closing high – while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.03% to 15,095. The Nasdaq remains about 6% below its all-time closing high of 16,057.44 from November 19, 2021.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Be a smarter, better informed investor.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Today's gains add to this year's Santa Claus rally, a period encompassing the last five trading days of December and the first two trading days in January when stocks historically do well.
"[T]hese 7 days are more likely to be higher than any other 7 days of the year, [with the S&P 500] up 79.5% of the time," writes Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group, on X. The data Detrick cites goes back to 1950, and shows the S&P 500 has averaged a 1.3% gain over the seven-day time frame.
Since its close on Thursday, December 21 – the start of this year's Santa Claus rally – the S&P 500 is up 0.8%.
Jobless claims edge higher
Thursday saw the busiest day for economic data this week. Most notably, a report from the Labor Department showed initial jobless claims rose 2,000 last week to 205,000.
"Jobless claims increased during the week ending December 23, but overall, they continue to trend sideways and have yet to show the sustained weakness that the Federal Reserve would like to see," says Eugenio Alemán, chief economist at Raymond James. "The labor market remains strong and reinforces our view that the Fed is likely to hold rates at current levels until the second half of 2024."
More jobs data rolls in next week, including Friday's release of the December nonfarm payrolls report.
Microsoft can rally another 20%, analyst says
In single-stock news, Microsoft (MSFT, +0.3%) edged higher after Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said it remains a "best ideas" pick. Ives also raised his price target on the mega-cap stock to $450 from $425, representing an implied upside of 20% to current levels.
The increased price target reflects "incrementally bullish recent AI [artificial intelligence] customer checks with 'game changing' Co-Pilot monetization now on the doorstep for MSFT into 2024," Ives writes in a note to clients. "We believe the stock still has yet to price in what we view as the next wave of cloud and AI growth coming to the Redmond story with fiscal with a strong competitive cloud edge vs Amazon and Google."
MSFT is set to close out 2023 up 57%, but it's only the third-best Dow Jones stock on the year. In first place is Salesforce (CRM, -0.4%) with its 101% gain and Intel (INTC, -0.7%) comes in a close second, up 91%.
Related content
- S&P 500 Stocks With the Most Upside
- What Are the Dogs of the Dow for 2024?
- Best Investing Moves to Make Before the End of the Year
-
More Than Money: The Hidden Toll of Financial Abuse of Older AdultsFinancial abuse from schemes involving tech support, government impostors, false sweepstakes, grandchild hoaxes and online shopping issues can cause thousands of dollars in losses.
-
I'm a Financial Planner: Here Are Three High-Impact Ways to Make a Difference With Your DollarsThe world often feels out of control, but here are three ways to use your money — through investments, charitable giving and political donations — to help create a more just and sustainable future.
-
Stocks Slide to Start September: Stock Market TodaySeasonal trends suggest tough times for the stock market as we round into the end of the third quarter.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Sherwin-Williams Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodaySherwin-Williams stock has clobbered the broader market by a wide margin for a long time.
-
Stocks End Strong Month on a Down Note: Stock Market TodayThere was likely a bit of profit-taking ahead of a historically weak September.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into UnitedHealth Group Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayUNH stock was a massive market beater for ages — until it wasn't.
-
S&P 500 Tops 6,500 Even as Nvidia Slips: Stock Market TodayThe world's most valuable company closed lower after earnings, but the S&P 500 managed to notch a new record high.
-
Stocks Edge Higher With Nvidia, Fed in Focus: Stock Market TodayThe AI bellwether reports earnings after today's close, while Wall Street is keeping a cautious eye on President Trump's attacks against the Fed.
-
President Trump Makes Markets Move Again: Stock Market TodayThe White House is moving ahead with plans to reshape the Federal Reserve and to buy shares in more sectors and stocks.
-
Stocks Struggle to Start Nvidia Week: Stock Market TodayAnother important week for the stock market starts on a risk-off note.
