Stocks rally to records, Nasdaq blows past 9,000 for first time
Nasdaq posts 10th straight record high
The Nasdaq Composite crossed the 9,000 level for the first time Thursday as the major averages extended a Santa Claus rally that began on Tuesday.
While the term might imply a one-day window, it's used on Wall Street to refer to gains made on the last five trading days of the year and the first two of the following year.
Thursday's increase came after Beijing confirmed that it is in close contact with the United States about signing a partial trade agreement.
NASDAQ'S 1,000 POINT MARCH TO 9,000 TOOK A BIT LONGER THAN USUAL
All three of the major averages closed in record territory and touched fresh intraday peaks. The Nasdaq has now closed at a record high in 10 straight sessions, the longest streak since July 1997.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 44782 | -128.65 | -0.29% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 6047.15 | +14.77 | +0.24% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 19403.947849 | +185.78 | +0.97% |
Retail stocks were in focus after Mastercard said holiday sales rose 3.4 percent year-over-year, boosted by an 18.8 percent in online spending.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM INC. | 210.71 | +2.82 | +1.36% |
| WMT | WALMART INC. | 92.64 | +0.14 | +0.15% |
| TGT | TARGET CORP. | 130.73 | -1.66 | -1.25% |
| JWN | NORDSTROM INC. | 23.06 | +0.35 | +1.54% |
| M | MACY'S INC. | 16.94 | +0.67 | +4.12% |
Meanwhile, Boeing shares continued to slide after a congressional aide told Reuters on Tuesday that new documents revealed “very disturbing” information about the grounded 737 Max jet.
Tesla gained after Wedbush analyst Dan Ives lifted his price target to $370 from $270, citing a "fundamental improvement." His new price target was 13 percent below where shares settled on Tuesday.
Uber was higher after a filing showed co-founder Travis Kalanick unloaded his last 5.8 million shares.
Elsewhere, Rite Aid continued to soar, and have now more than doubled since the company reported better-than-expected results on Dec. 19.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BA | THE BOEING CO. | 152.42 | +1.70 | +1.13% |
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 332.89 | -5.34 | -1.58% |
| UBER | UBER TECHNOLOGIES INC. | 71.62 | +0.06 | +0.08% |
| RAD | NO DATA AVAILABLE | - | - | - |
Looking at commodities, gold was up 0.7 percent at $1,516 an ounce and West Texas Intermediate crude oil was higher by 1 percent near $61.70 a barrel.
U.S. Treasurys were little changed with the yield on the 10-year note down 1 basis point at 1.895 percent.
Chinese markets surged on Thursday after the government announced a relaxation of residency restrictions for small and medium cities that boosted property stocks. The Shanghai Composite index jumped 0.9 percent. Japan's Nikkei advanced 0.6 percent.
Markets were closed in Europe and Hong Kong.
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FOX Business' Ken Martin and The Associated Press contributed to this article.