As Santa Claus rally begins, S&P 500 hits record high

The S&P 500 reached a new intraday record high on Wednesday, fueled by broad-based gains across sectors in a holiday-shortened Christmas Eve trading session, as what looks like a classic Santa Claus rally begins.
The benchmark index closed at 6,909.79, extending its 2025 advance to more than 17%, as investors cheered the release of third-quarter U.S. GDP data showing much-stronger-than-expected growth of 4.3% annualized fueled by resilient consumer spending and exports. This upbeat reading reinforced bets on Federal Reserve interest rate cuts in the new year
Reuters:
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Trading volumes were thin, with U.S. stock markets set to close at 1 p.m. ET (1800 GMT) on Wednesday. The markets will remain shut on Thursday for Christmas.
Micron Technology jumped 4% to scale a record high, extending its rally after issuing a strong forecast last week. Bank stocks were also among the top boosts to the S&P 500, with financials rising 0.4% to a new peak.
Recent gains in U.S. stocks have spurred hopes of a “Santa Claus rally,” a seasonal phenomenon where the S&P 500 posts gains in the last five trading days of the year and the first two in January, according to Stock Trader’s Almanac.
That period began on Wednesday and would run through January 5.

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MacDailyNews Take: Shares of Apple are up $2.60, +0.95%, to $274.95 in morning trading on typically low Christmas Eve volume of just 8,950,355 shares.

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