US stocks: S&P registers record close as growth stocks advance

[NEW YORK] US stocks rose on Tuesday and the S&P 500 notched a closing record after a flurry of economic data that included a reading of economic growth pushed bond yields higher and elevated growth names.

The Commerce Department said gross domestic product increased at a 4.3 per cent annualised rate in the third quarter, the fastest pace since the third quarter of 2023 and well above the 3.3 per cent estimate of economists polled by Reuters, fuelled by robust consumer spending.

While the data was delayed due to the 43-day government shutdown and many analysts expected the fourth quarter would show a slower pace of economic growth, markets are now pricing in a smaller chance of a January rate cut from the Federal Reserve, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool, and shorter-dated bond yields rose.

“The bond market didn’t like this news,” said Stephen Massocca, senior vice-president at Wedbush Securities in San Francisco.

“It seems to me that when we lose this battle, growth does well, and growth’s doing well today... but if you’re a food company, or you’re a chemical company, or you’re an oil and gas company, or even if you’re like a private credit company, that’s bad news. Unless interest rates go down, it’s bad.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 79.73 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 48,442.41, the S&P 500 gained 31.30 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 6,909.79 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 133.02 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 23,561.84.

The S&P 500 growth index gained 0.8% while the value index was largely unchanged.

AI-related names added to recent gains, rebounding from last week’s selloff that was triggered by concerns about inflated valuations and worries that high capital spending by AI companies would pressure their profits.

Nvidia rose 3 per cent as the biggest boost to the benchmark S&P 500 index, while Amazon.com, Alphabet and Broadcom each saw gains of more than 1 per cent on the day.

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Other economic data painted a less rosy image of the economy as US consumer confidence weakened in December amid deepening anxiety over jobs and income. Factory production was unchanged in November after declining in October.

All three main indexes were poised for a third straight yearly gain. The S&P 500 and the Dow were also on track to rise for an eighth consecutive month.

Recent gains in US stocks have spurred hopes of a “Santa Claus rally”, a seasonal phenomenon where the S&P 500 posts gains in the last five trading days of the year and the first two in January, according to Stock Trader’s Almanac.

This year, that period begins on Wednesday and runs through Jan 5.

Trading volumes were light and likely to thin out further as the holiday approaches. US stock markets will close at 1 pm ET (1800 GMT) on Wednesday and remain shut on Thursday for Christmas.

Volume on US exchanges was 14.01 billion shares, compared with the 16.67 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

ServiceNow declined 1.5 per cent after the enterprise software maker agreed to buy cybersecurity startup Armis for US$7.75 billion in cash.

US military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls edged up 0.3 per cent after President Donald Trump announced plans for a new “Trump class” of battleships, which he said would be larger, faster and “100 times more powerful” than any previously built.

Miner Freeport-McMoRan climbed 2.5 per cent and closed at a 15-month high of US$52.29 as copper prices touched a record high and Wells Fargo raised its price target on the stock.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.02-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.6-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 35 new 52-week highs and five new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 70 new highs and 178 new lows. REUTERS