U.S. stocks rallied to record highs at the last trading session. Such impressive gains were triggered by significant buying pressure seen in the Oil & Gas, Telecoms, and Healthcare sectors.
What you must know
At the close of the New York Stock Exchange, the S&P 500 index climbed 0.29%, Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.37%, and the NASDAQ Composite index surged by 0.47%.
- The best performers among the biggest listed U.S companies were the Dow Inc which gained 2.39%, trading at 54.48 at the close. Also, Johnson & Johnson ticked up by 1.66% to end at 151.44 and The Travelers Companies was up 1.20% to 135.51 in late trade.
- The top gainers at the S&P 500 included Equifax Inc which ticked up by 8.17% to 184.79, and Arconic Corp which rose by 5.69% to settle at 30.45.
- Not forgetting the top gainers at the NASDAQ Composite including Curis Inc, which surged by 347.22% to 6.440 and Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Inc, which ticked up by 71.10% to settle at 2.96.
- Outperforming stocks outnumbered underperforming stocks on the New York Stock Exchange by 1868 to 1216. 85 remained unchanged on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1757 rallied higher and 1220 dropped, while 83 ended unchanged.
What they are saying
Stephen Innes, Chief Global Market Strategist at Axi, in a note to Nairametrics, spoke on the prevailing market macros triggering U.S stocks to record high:
“US equities nudged higher Tuesday as tech stocks led the gains, recovering from losses early in the session.
“The sentiment was helped by reports suggesting US Republican Senate leader, McConnell, had offered the Democrats a compromise. Also supportive of Main Street concerns, White House officials asked Senate Republicans to include a $600-holiday stocking check for households as part of any stimulus package.
“With the markets starting to exhibit some year-end fatigue, any stimulus holiday stocking will come at a most welcome time and ensure that well-subscribed equity markets will cross the year-end finishing line on a positive note.”
Bottom line
It seems investors are overlooking the negative reports coming from COVID-19 onslaughts amid global investors sentiment and momentum remaining stronger as regards to investing in U.S stocks, on the bias that stock bulls remain very much in the driving seat.
