Stocks climbed on Thursday, hitting new record highs, as the market rallied into the end of 2019.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 55 points, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were both up about 0.3% to fresh all-time highs. Amazon led the gains, jumping 1.9% after the e-commerce giant said the holiday shopping season broke all prior records. Trading volumes are expected to remain thin this week.
Stocks have been piling up new records as the market wraps up 2019. The S&P 500 has risen 2.6% this month and 8.2% this quarter, bring the year-to-date gains to 28.6%. The benchmark has a chance at scoring a historic year: It is only one percentage point away from posting the best annual performance since 1997.
“Stocks look like they just wont quit. The rally is for real,” Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at MUFG, said in a note on Thursday. “The economy’s engines continue to hum.”
U.S. weekly jobless claims decreased 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 222,000 for the week ended Dec. 21, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The number is slightly higher than estimates of 220,000, according to economists polled by Dow Jones.
In a shortened Christmas Eve session Tuesday, the S&P 500 finished flat and Nasdaq rose to another record. The tech-heavy index also posted its ninth consecutive record close for the first time since 1998.
Markets in Europe, Australia and Hong Kong remained closed on Thursday for the holiday.
Investors have been adding more risk after the U.S. and China announced they have reached a phase one trade agreement earlier this month. The two countries are in the process of translating the deal, aiming to sign it in early January.
In a regular press briefing on Thursday, Chinese commerce ministry spokesman said China is in close touch with the U.S. on signing the initial trade pact. President Donald Trump said Tuesday the deal is “getting done,” adding there will be a signing ceremony with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Stocks typically get a boost this time of the year during the so-called Santa Claus rally period. In the final five trading days of the year and the first two tradings days of the new year, the S&P 500 has posted a 1.3% gain on average since 1950, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac. The period began on Tuesday this year.
