Stock Market News for December 26, 2014 – Zacks Investment …

Stock Market News for December 26, 2014 – Zacks Investment …

Markets ended modestly higher on Wednesday’s abbreviated trading session banking on initial claims dropping to a seven-week low and gains in biotechs. The Dow hit a record high for the 37th session and Nasdaq also ended in the green. However, the S&P 500 erased its initial gains and a late selloff dragged the benchmark into the red.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) edged up 0.03%, to close at 18,030.21. The Standard & Poor 500 (S&P 500) lost a meager 0.01% to close at 2,081.88. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 4,773.47; adding 0.2%. The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) went down 2.9% to settle at 14.37. A total of about 2.5 billion shares were traded on Wednesday, lower than the month-to-date average of 7.66 billion. Declining outpaced advancing stocks on the NYSE. For 47% stocks that advanced, 49% declined.

The Dow and S&P 500 had both hit intraday record highs on Wednesday. However, a late sell-off eroded S&P’s gains. Nonetheless, the blue-chip index did manage to set new records. The modest gain for the Dow was enough to help it hit its 37th record high this year. The Dow had crossed the 18K mark in its previous trading session. With gains of 3.9%, the Dow also recorded its best five-day winning streak ahead of Christmas since 1991. The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market closed at 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday, leading to low volumes on Christmas Eve.

The US Department of Labor reported on Wednesday that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims were at 280,000 in the week ending Dec 20, down 9,000 from the previous week’s unrevised 289,000. Initial claims were below the consensus estimate of 293, 000. This was also the fourth consecutive week of declines. Moreover, initial claims are now at a seven-week low.

Markets were also boosted by gains in biotech stocks. The NASDAQ Biotechnology index gained 1.6%, rebounding from its 6.9% drop in the two prior sessions. Celgene Corporation (CELGAnalyst Report) jumped 3.3% and was the biggest gainer on the S&P 500. Among others Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILDAnalyst Report), Amgen Inc. (AMGNAnalyst Report), Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIBAnalyst Report) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (REGNAnalyst Report) gained 2.1%, 2%, 1.5% and 1.5%, respectively.

However, crude prices slumped again and dragged the energy sector lower. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) was down 0.7% and was the biggest drag on the S&P 500. Benchmark U.S. crude oil dropped 2.3% to $55.84 a barrel. Brent Crude oil was down to $60.24, a decline of 2.4%. Key energy stocks such as Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHKAnalyst Report), Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOMAnalyst Report), Chevron Corporation (CVXAnalyst Report), EOG Resources, Inc. (EOGAnalyst Report) and Marathon Oil Corporation (MROAnalyst Report) dropped 2.2%, 0.9%, 0.4%, 2.5% and 1.2%, respectively.

Though the drop in S&P 500 halted its five-day run, the benchmark is up 0.5% for the week. The Dow and the Nasdaq are also up 1.3% and 0.2%. On Tuesday, the Dow and S&P 500 had hit record highs for 36 and 51 times, respectively, this year. Gains were propelled by better-than-expected revision to third quarter GDP numbers. According to the “third” estimate by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the third quarter GDP increased at an annual rate of 5.0%, more than the consensus estimate of an increase by 4.3%.

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Stock Market News for December 26, 2014 – Zacks Investment …

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