US close: Five-day win streak pushes S&P 500, Dow to new highs

(Sharecast News) - US stocks rose for a fifth straight day on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Dow both settling at new record highs despite a low-volume, shortened trading session ahead of the Christmas break.

The S&P 500 edged 0.3% higher to a fresh all-time closing high of 6,932.05, topping a previous record reached on Tuesday.

The Dow rose 0.6% to a new high of 48,731.16, with just three of its 30 constituents closing in the red.

Meanwhile, the Nasdaq rose just 0.2% - a more tepid rise following the strong gains made over the past week - but has surged more than 4% over the past five days alone, finishing at its highest level in two weeks.

"Attention now turns to whether we do get the 'Santa Rally', which is strictly speaking an event that comes between Christmas and New Year," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.

"The recent slump in the VIX augurs well for a bounce, given that previous instances of sharp falls in volatility have delivered a commendable 0.8% bounce in the S&P 500 over the next week."

On the macro front, mortgage applications fell by 5% in the week ended 19 December, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, extending the prior week's 3.8% drop to hit their lowest in more than three months. Applications to refinance a mortgage fell by 5.6% week-on-week, and applications to purchase a home slipped 3.7%.

Meanwhile, initial jobless claims fell by 10,000 week-on-week to a seasonally adjusted reading of 214,000, down from the prior week's unrevised reading of 224,000 and well below market forecasts of 223,000.

No major corporate earnings were released during the session, though Nike managed to jump 5% after it was reported that Apple boss Tim Cook had recently racked up $2.9m-worth of shares in the sportswear giant following a recent pullback in the stock.

Intel was lower after Reuters reported that Nivida had paused testing of the former's 18A chip production process.

Dow Jones - Risers

Nike Inc. (NKE) $60.00 4.64%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $106.45 1.34%

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $114.48 1.11%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $329.10 0.97%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $207.77 0.97%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $40.30 0.95%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $910.29 0.95%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $327.80 0.92%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $144.49 0.91%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $313.33 0.80%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $36.15 -0.55%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $78.01 -0.01%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $150.50 -0.01%

S&P 500 - Risers

Nike Inc. (NKE) $60.00 4.64%

Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $41.14 4.20%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $286.64 3.75%

Apartment Investment & Management Co. (AIV) $5.97 3.11%

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (BBWI) $19.74 2.55%

Sl Green Realty Corp. (SLG) $45.52 2.41%

Target Corp. (TGT) $96.44 2.27%

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $122.05 2.11%

Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $871.39 1.94%

Carmax Inc. (KMX) $39.18 1.90%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $43.85 -1.37%

HF Sinclair Corporation (DINO) $46.35 -1.36%

Carnival Corp. (CCL) $31.25 -1.28%

Macy's Inc. (M) $22.32 -1.15%

Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $25.68 -1.14%

ConocoPhillips (COP) $91.78 -1.03%

FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $44.72 -0.97%

Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) $146.92 -0.84%

National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $15.61 -0.83%

Revvity, Inc. (RVTY) $96.78 -0.82%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $286.64 3.75%

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $122.05 2.11%

Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $871.39 1.94%

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $208.48 1.56%

Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $29.79 1.40%

Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $24.03 1.39%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $177.31 1.23%

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $11.22 1.22%

Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $60.06 1.09%

Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $20.66 1.08%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $60.19 -1.55%

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $11.64 -0.77%

NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $137.14 -0.65%

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $286.49 -0.60%

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $135.41 -0.57%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $36.15 -0.55%

Incyte Corp. (INCY) $100.38 -0.53%

Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $74.50 -0.49%

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $188.55 -0.47%

Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $11.15 -0.45%