Overview
- U.S. stocks finished a holiday‑shortened session at records, with the S&P 500 closing at 6,932.05 and the Dow at 48,731.16 as the seven‑day Santa Claus Rally period began on Dec. 24.
- Trading was thin, with volume reported at roughly half recent averages, a typical feature of year‑end sessions that can magnify index moves.
- Stronger macro readings supported sentiment, including Q3 real GDP at a 4.3% annualized pace and a decline in initial jobless claims to 214,000.
- Fed‑funds futures indicated an 86.7% chance rates stay unchanged at the January meeting, signaling investors largely expect no immediate cut.
- Stock‑specific moves added cross‑currents: Nike climbed on Tim Cook’s 50,000‑share purchase, Omeros jumped on FDA approval for Yartemlea, Dynavax surged on a $2.2 billion Sanofi deal, Micron advanced on memory‑chip pricing reports, and Intel slipped after reports Nvidia paused testing its 18A process, which Intel said remains on track.