Main U.S. indexes rise; Nasdaq out front, up ~1%
Tech leads S&P sector gainers; Energy weakest group
Dollar, bitcoin dip; crude off >1.5%; gold gains
U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield dips to ~4.19%
Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com
WAITING FOR THE GUY ON THE SLEIGH
It's that time of the year when elves are put on shelves inside the house, when lights are draped on rooftops outside and when Wall Street strategists write hopeful notes, a bit like those lists being prepared by their kids, as they wonder whether the Santa Claus rally will happen again this time.
Regardless of whether the market has been naughty or nice in the first 11 months of the year, discussions about the prospects for a magical end-of year rally are a reliable occurrence each December, writes Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute (WFII).
And specific to 2024, Wren notes that "the equity market has been throwing a pretty good party for most of this year" with the S&P 500 boasting more than 50 record closing highs.
So the argument could definitely be made that "Santa has come early this year," according to the strategist.
But, Wren writes that "positive momentum and better than expected economic news suggest that now is not the time to try to step in front of what is likely to be a gift-laden sleigh when Santa eventually comes to town later this month."
Yet, while avoiding blocking the sleigh, it doesn't mean that adjustments can't be made, according to Wren. He sees opportunities in sectors such as industrials, communication services, financials and energy and says he favors buying on pull backs in a disciplined way this year and next.
Meanwhile, investors have to wait more than two weeks as the official time frame for the Santa Claus rally, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac, is the last five trading days of the year and the first two days of the New Year.
According to the Almanac publishers, if Santa doesn't show, this tends to precede a bear market. Maybe it's best to put out a stocking anyway?
(Sinéad Carew)
*****
FOR WEDNESDAY'S EARLIER LIVE MARKETS POSTS:
WEAKENING JOLTS SHOWS LABOR MARKET MAY NOT BE AS ROSY AS FED THINKS - CLICK HERE
HUMP-DAY DATA JAMBOREE: ADP, SERVICES PMI, ET AL - CLICK HERE
WALL STREET INDEXES RISE WITH DATA, FED COMMENTS IN FOCUS - CLICK HERE
BENCHMARK TREASURY YIELD: TRADERS EYE LEVELS AHEAD OF EVENT RISKS - CLICK HERE
WHAT'S UP WITH SUSTAINABLE FUND FLOWS? - CLICK HERE
FRANCE OATs JUST LOST THEIR ‘EXORBITANT PRIVILEGE’ - CLICK HERE
EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS MIXED, EYES ON FRANCE - CLICK HERE
POLITICAL STORMS SAP SENTIMENT - CLICK HERE
EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: FUTURES WEAK BEFORE FRANCE VOTES - CLICK HERE
