Dec 27 (Reuters) – The S&P 500 index (.SPX) hit a record high on Monday, as strong U.S. retail sales underscored economic strength and eased worries from Omicron-driven flight cancellations that hit travel stocks.
U.S. holiday season retail sales rose 8.5% from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24, powered by an ecommerce boom, according to a Mastercard Inc report. read more
The S&P 500 retailing index (.SPXRT)gained0.18%.
Travel-related stocks, typically sensitive to coronavirus news, declined as U.S. airlines canceled about 800 more flights on Monday after nixing thousands during the Christmas weekend, as Omicron cases soared. read more
The S&P 1500 airlines index (.SPCOMAIR) shed 0.81%. Cruise operators Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH.N), Royal Caribbean (RCL.N) and Carnival Corp (CCL.N) fell 1.5%-3.1%, leading declines on the benchmark S&P 500.
"The market is in this interesting place where we have a strong consumer, with spending up 8% year over year. Personal consumption makes up 70% of our GDP, and that remains flush," said Sylvia Jablonski Kampaktsis, chief investment officer and co-founder at Defiance ETFs in New York.
"Omicron reminds us that we still exist in this corona ecosystem. And it'll probably be one of many things that we will continue talking about with this virus but the doomsday COVID scenario of 2020 feels like it's far behind us."
Monday's climb marks a fourth straight session of gains for Wall Street's main stock indexes after encouraging news last week related to the Omicron variant eased worries about the strain's economic impact. read more
All 11 main S&P 500 sector indexes advanced, with tech (.SPLRCT) and energy (.SPNY) leading percentage gains.
By 2:17 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 276.24 points, or 0.77%, to 36,226.8; the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 55.56 points, or 1.18%, at 4,781.35; and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) added 196.73 points, or 1.26%, at 15,850.10.
The Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC)got a boost from megacap companies, including Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), Apple Inc (AAPL.O), and Meta Platform (FB.O), which rose between 0.9% and 3.3%.
Main U.S. stock indexes are on track for a third straight yearly gain, with the benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) set for its best three-year performance since 1999. The Dow is eyeing a 18.37% annual jump, while the Nasdaq is looking at a 23% climb.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 2.05-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.02-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 47 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 80 new highs and 116 new lows.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Subscribe for our daily curated newsletter to receive the latest exclusive Reuters coverage delivered to your inbox.
Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers.
Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology.
The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs.
The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals.
Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile.
Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts.
Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks.
All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays.
© 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved

source