U.S. stock markets hit a bit of a decline in Tuesday's shortened trading session. The S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended their winning streak, whereas the Nasdaq continued to climb to add another record high closing.
Here's how the stock market ended Tuesday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
Tuesday's session ended early to kick off the U.S. holiday season. The stock market also will be closed Wednesday in observance of Christmas Day. Tuesday's session also marks the start of the 'Santa Claus Rally' period, which is the final five trading days of the year and the first two of the new year. Data form the Stock Trader's Almanac shows that since 2008, the Santa Claus Rally only failed to materialize in 2014 and 2015. Since 1950, the S&P has gained an average of 1.3% during this time period. Through Monday's close, the S&P is up 2.6% for December, a month that generally is the best month of the year for investors.
In U.S. Stock Sector News, sectors continue to remain mixed on Tuesday. The half that saw gains include Real Estate +0.17%, Consumer Discretionary +0.13%, Utilities +0.10%, Financials +0.10%, Materials +0.07% and Information Technology +0.04%. The rest that had modest losses to Tuesday's trading session include Industrials -0.34%, Communication Services -0.13%, Health Care -0.10%, Energy -0.05% and Consumer Staples -0.04%.
Lastly, in Commodity and Currency News, crude oil barrel prices made steady gains today, with West Texas Intermediate increasing over +0.80% and Brent Crude soaring almost +0.95%, both costing over $60 per barrel. On the other hand, Gold took a steep dive Tuesday, with the metal's prices dropping over -1.30% and below $1,500 per ounce. Finally, the U.S. Dollar saw slight gains to close out the short trading period, with the DXY Index increasing +0.02%.
