Investing.com – On Thanksgiving Day, bulls will surely be thankful for a decent economy and low interest rates that have combined to push stocks to new highs.
The S&P 500, Dow Jones industrials, Nasdaq Composite and Nasdaq 100 hit all-time highs and closing highs on a quiet day of trading.
U.S. markets will be closed Thursday for the holiday.
The S&P 500 was up 0.42%, with the Dow up 0.15%. The Nasdaq Composite and Nasdaq 100 indexes were up 0.66% and 0.70%, respectively, based in part on a strong performance from Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), up as investors predict a strong Black Friday sales performance.
The Russell 2000 index, up 0.56%, hit a 15-month high.
So far this year, the S&P 500 is up 25.8%, with the Nasdaq up 31.2% and the Nasdaq 100 up 33.4%.
The Dow is up a more modest 20.7% and its gain on Wednesday was muted by weakness from Boeing (NYSE:BA), down 1.48%. The loss cut about 38 points from the index.
Boeing (NYSE:BA) had two issues. First, the Federal Aviation Administration told the company its inspectors would inspect all the 737 Max planes being shipped to customers or recertified with modifications. That will delay recertification and return to service of the troubled plane until probably after Jan. 1.
The other issue was a Seattle Times report showing a September stress test of the 777 X plane that caused fuselage damage that will require some redesign work.
Helping the market was the Federal Reserve's newest Beige Book report, an anecdotal look at the economy. It showed modest to moderate growth, low inflation, but some wage pressures.
The market also took a cue to move higher from statements from the Trump Administration that U.S.-China trade talks are progressing. It's not clear when a deal will be ready to sign.
While the economy looks stable for the foreseeable future (absent a breakdown of trade talks), the market has been showing signs of frothiness.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both ended the day with relative strength indexes approaching 76. The Dow's RSI is just under 72. Relative strength indices are widely watched because they can give off buy-and-sell signals. In this case, a reading above 70 is a warning that stocks are getting ahead of themselves. Above 75 is a sell signal.
If many market bulls are correct stocks could continue to rise into the year, the RSIs for the major averages could top 80, making the market vulnerable to a sizable pullback.
While Boeing was the Dow laggard, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), up 1.34%, was the Dow's biggest percentage gainer and added 24 points to the index. Apple also added 13.5 points to the Nasdaq 100 index. Apple, Amazon and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) contributed nearly half the Nasdaq 100's 59-point gain.
Crude oil and gold prices moved lower. Interest rates were a touch higher, with the United States 10-Year yield up to 1.771% from 1.74% on Tuesday.
Contract oil-and-gas driller Helmerich and Payne (NYSE:HP), Under Armour (NYSE:UA), software company Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) and chipmaker Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) were the S&P 500's best performers Wednesday.
Farm-equipment maker Deere (NYSE:DE), apparel-maker PVH (NYSE:PVH), financial services giant CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) and discount retailer Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) were the weakest S&P 500 performers.