The S&P 500 index reached a new high on Monday, as solid US retail sales reinforced economic strength and alleviated concerns over Omicron-related airline disruptions, which weighed on travel stocks.
According to a Mastercard Inc report, Christmas season retail sales in the United States increased 8.5% from November 1 to December 24, fueled by a surge in e-commerce.
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Travel-related equities, which are normally sensitive to coronavirus news, fell on Monday after U.S. airlines canceled roughly 800 additional flights after canceling thousands over the Christmas weekend, as Omicron cases increased.
“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.
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“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 increase is the fourth straight session of advances for Wall Street’s major market indices, following favorable news last week regarding the Omicron variant, which alleviated concerns about the strain’s economic impact.
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All 11 major S&P 500 sector indices improved, with technology and energy leading the way in terms of percentage gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 276.24 points, or 0.77%, to 36,226.8; the S&P 500 gained 55.56 points, or 1.18%, to 4,781.35; and the Nasdaq Composite gained 196.73 points, or 1.26%, to 15,850.10.
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Mega-cap businesses such as Tesla Inc, Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc, and Meta Platform boosted the Nasdaq Composite, which surged between 0.9% and 3.3%.
The major US market indices are on course for a third straight year of gains, with the benchmark S&P 500 on track for its finest three-year performance since 1999. The Dow anticipates an annual gain of 18.37%, while the Nasdaq expects a gain of 23%.
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On the NYSE, advancers exceeded decliners by a 2.05-to-1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, advancers outpaced decliners by a 1.02-to-1 ratio.
The S&P 500 had 47 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite saw 80 new highs and 116 new lows.
