Wall Street stocks climbed early Tuesday, extending a late-year rise of equities into a period known as the “Santa Claus rally.”
Some leading market watchers define the “Santa Claus rally” period as the final five trading days of the year, followed by the first two days of the subsequent year.
Stocks often rise during this stretch, with market watchers pointing to the light news flow, tepid trading volume and festive atmosphere as drivers of market action.
About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1 percent at 37,432.57.
The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.2 percent at 4,766.23, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.4 percent to 15,050.99.
US stocks have been on a tear since late October as inflation has moderated, prompting the Federal Reserve to halt a streak of interest rate hikes and begin pointing towards expected rate cuts in 2024.
Among individual companies, Manchester United jumped 3.3 percent after British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe reached a deal to buy a 25 percent stake in the team for about $1.3 billion and vowed to return the club to the “top of world football.”
Apple slipped 0.1 percent after the Biden administration opted not to veto a ruling on patent infringements, a move that puts into effect a US import ban on some smart-watch models.
The order stemmed from a complaint made to the International Trade Commission in mid-2021 accusing Apple of infringing on medical device maker company Masimo Corp’s “light-based oximetry functionality.”
