S&P 500 hits another record high as the Santa Claus rally stays strong
- The S&P 500 on Tuesday was on course for its fifth straight session of gains.
- The benchmark index hit a 70th record closing high this year even with coronavirus case counts rising.
- Apple stock was in focus with the company shutting down NYC stores because of the Omicron spread.
US stocks rose Tuesday, with the S&P 500 hanging at fresh record highs, as investors set aside risks from rising COVID cases and kept the so-called Santa Claus rally moving forward.
The S&P 500 was on course for a fifth day of gains that would mark the benchmark's 70th record closing high for 2021. Stocks have been marching higher as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus appears to be producing milder symptoms in patients than the previous iterations of COVID-19.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday cut down the isolation time to five days from 10 days for people with COVID-19 if they have no symptoms. The CDC made that move even as its data show coronavirus case counts have steadily been rising since late November, leaving the seven-day moving average of cases at 206,577 as of Sunday.
Here's where US indexes stood at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday:
- S&P 500: 4,794.37, up 0.07%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 36,350.46, up 0.13% (48.08 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 15,865.83, up 0.03%
Rising coronavirus cases have reportedly prompted Apple to close all of its New York City stores, although shoppers can still pick up their orders. Investors were also keeping watch on Apple shares to see if the tech behemoth's market capitalization can cross above $3 trillion.
Around the markets, Tesla stock rose after Wedbush said shares should jump 28% in 2022 as China remains a growth "linchpin" and production capacity doubles on the opening of new Gigafactories.
Oil prices rose. West Texas Intermediate crude moved up 1.6% to $76.77 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, gained 1.4% to $79.29.
Gold added on 0.5%, at $1,818.50 per ounce. The 10-year yield rose less than 1 basis point to 1.485%.
Bitcoin fell by 3.6% to $49,184.83.