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By Nicholas Jasinski |
Tuesday, December 29 Tranquil. It's quiet out there. With a dearth of major
corporate news or economic data releases during a holiday-shortened week,
stocks indexes traded in a narrow range around the break-even line today. The
New York Stock Exchange had its fifth-lowest volume day of the year. The S&P 500 and Dow
Jones Industrial Average both
closed down about 0.2%, after being up slightly in the morning. The Nasdaq
Composite lost
0.4% today, also having given up an earlier gain. All three indexes had hit
record highs yesterday. The biggest action came
from Washington, after 44 House Republicans joined most Democrats
on Monday to pass an amendment to the just-agreed Covid-19 relief and fiscal
stimulus bill to increase direct-payment checks to most Americans to $2,000
from $600. That measure went today to the
Republican-controlled Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell blocked approval by unanimous consent. It's
unclear whether the larger payments—supported by President Donald
Trump—will become
law or not. The Russell 2000 was hit harder
by the news, and closed down 1.8% today—its largest drop since October and
its third-straight loss. The small-cap index has had quite a run
recently, however, fueled by positive vaccine announcements and bets on an
economic recovery. It's still up about 30% since the start of November. Some continued volatility for the Russell 2000 could be
in store. That rapid rally to record highs has put the index in extreme
overbought territory, with technical indicators screaming for a pullback. |
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DJIA: -0.22% to
30,335.67 The Hot
Stock: Intel +4.9% Best Sector:
Health
Care +0.5% |
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