Benzinga - by Piero Cingari, Benzinga Staff Writer.
The U.S. stock market saw modest gains in a session characterized by low trading volumes following the Christmas holiday. The S&P 500 Index gained 0.3% during midday trading in New York, eyeing its all-time highs, which are 1% above the current levels.
Tech stocks within the Nasdaq 100 index experienced a slight uptick of 0.4%, while blue-chip stocks rose by 0.2%.
Small-cap stocks, as represented by the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM), continued to outperform large-cap indices, extending the market narrative from December.
The dollar saw a marginal 0.2% decrease, while Treasury yields remained stable. Gold recorded a 0.3% increase, reaching $2,060 per ounce, while Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) experienced a 3% decline.
Oil prices rallied, with WTI crude prices surging by over 3% to $76 per barrel on Tuesday, driven in part by intensified disruptions in Red Sea trade.
Tuesday’s Performance In US Major Indices, ETFs
| Russell 2000 | 2,048.93 | +0.7% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 16,851.14 | +0.4% |
| S&P 500 | 4,769.81 | +0.3% |
| Dow Jones | 37,481.22 | +0.3% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) was 0.3% higher to $474.28, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSE:DIA) was 0.1% higher to $374.41 and the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) inched up 0.3% to $409.02, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Sector-wise, staples and utilities outperformed, with both the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLP) and the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLU) up 0.9%.
The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLY) was the only sector in the red, down 0.3%.
Among industries, the VanEck Oil Services ETF (NYSE:OIH) led gains, up 2%, while airlines lagged behind, with the U.S. Global Jets ETF (NYSE:JETS) falling 0.4%.
Tuesday’s Stock Movers
- Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) shares rose 4.4% after announcing its $25-billion investment plan in Israel, with $3.2 billion in government incentives secured.
- Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) rose nearly 5% after the Biden administration unveiled tax credits to hydrogen producers on Friday.
- Shares of Manchester United (NYSE:MANU) surged close to 3% after British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe committed to purchasing 25% of the club’s Class B shares and as much as 25% of its Class A shares at a price of $33 each.
- Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) eased 0.2% after the White House decided Tuesday to uphold the sales ban on Apple.
- Shares of Carnival Corp. (NYSE:CCL) and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) dipped by 2.5% and 2.6%, respectively, retracting after a period of robust gains.
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