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By Brian
Hershberg | Thursday, December 24 Last-Minute
Shopping. The three major U.S.
stock indexes rose in a quiet holiday-shortened session today. Investors were
apparently in a buying mood ahead of the three-day weekend. U.S.
financial markets are closed tomorrow for Christmas, as are most global
markets. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.2%
today, the S&P 500 added
0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.3%.
The small-cap Russell 2000 lost
0.2%. The indexes were mostly higher on the week, with the S&P 500
edging slightly lower. The session
had some of the thinnest trading volume of the year. The U.K. and European
Union reached a trade deal to avoid
a messy Brexit, and investors again seem to be looking beyond
Washington's faltering move toward passage of a $900
billion coronavirus stimulus package . Andrew
Brenner of NatAlliance
Securities thinks the trouble getting the stimulus bill
over the finish line -- as well as President Donald Trump's recent pardons
and veto of
a defense bill -- could imperil Republican chances in Georgia's
Senate runoff and perhaps pose the biggest risk for investors. And why does
it bother us? We fear an increase in capital gains taxes that could
derail the markets. We know who Scrooge is for this evening. Yet
markets are ignoring all of this. Markets
weren't ignoring Alibaba
Group Holding, which provided some
of the day's sharpest action. Alibaba's American depositary receipts
plunged 13.3% today as Chinese regulators said they were looking into
the company's use of exclusivity arrangements with merchants who sell on its
e-commerce platform. At least
one analyst thinks the selloff was overdone, however. Before we
go, impress your family this holiday weekend with some market
factoids. With one trading week remaining in 2020 -- thank goodness --
the Dow is up 5.8% on the year, the S&P 500 is up 14.6%, the Nasdaq is up
42.7%, and the Russell 2000 is up 20.1%. Merry
Christmas if you celebrate, and happy holidays to all. Watch our TV
show on Fox Business, this week Saturday at 10 a.m. or 11:30 a.m. ET; or
Sunday at 7 a.m., 10 a.m., or 11:30 a.m. Get analysis of potential market surprises
in 2021 and see an interview with Kevin Landis, CEO of Firsthand
Capital Management, on tech innovations. |
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DJIA: +0.23% to 30,199.87 The Hot
Stock: Fidelity National
Information Services +4.5% Best Sector:
Real Estate +1% |
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