Buzz on Business for Wednesday, December 27^th, 2023.

Apparently, there was no coal in any of the stockings carefully hung by the chimneys on Wall Street. The Santa Claus rally continues!

Stock Market Report

We’re all dreaming of a Green Christmas here at the Buzz on Business World Headquarters, as stocks were nice, not naughty.

• The Dow Jones Industrials were up 159 points or four-tenths of a percent and closed at 37,545.
• The S+P 500 is just forty-four points from a new all-time high. It was also up four-tenths and closed at 4,775, up twenty points.
• Tech investors unwrapped a Nasdaq Composite that’s back above fifteen thousand. It was up five-tenths, eighty-two points, and closed at 15,075.
• The XRT Retailers were up almost a full one percent. They closed at $72.71, up $0.67

Bond Markets

Bonds traded in a tight range before closing mixed.

• The two-year Treasury closed with a yield of 4.356%, up almost two basis points.
• The yield on the twenty-year was off two ticks. It now yields 4.205%

Oil and Gold

The Gold chart on the Giant Quote Machine seems to be messed up again. We’re sure this is something out of a James Bond movie.

• The best we can tell is that gold closed at $2,078, up $8.10 a troy ounce.
• Oil was up. It gained $1.89 and a barrel now changes hands at $75.28

Slow News Week this Week

No earnings news on Tuesday, and no earnings announcements are scheduled for this week.

On the economic front, we got the Standard and Poor’s Case-Schiller House Price Index yesterday. The index showed the price of houses across the country went up by an average of 4.9% over the last twelve months. Expectations were for a 5.0% rise.

A slow week in the economic calendar this week. Tomorrow, we get the Pending Home Sales Report from the National Association of Realtors. Expectations are for an increase of nine-tenths of a percent versus a decrease of 1.5% last month.

With no earnings news on the horizon and a light economic calendar, this week may offer a brief respite before the market gears up for another eventful year. Whether the Santa Claus rally extends its magic or reality bites in the form of housing data, those of us here at Financial Animal team be watching closely. So grab your eggnog or champagne, buckle up, and join us as we dissect the market's next move. Until then, happy holidays and happy investing!