(Dec 20): US stocks climbed on Friday morning as traders grappled with a record options expiration and assessed gains by tech firms including Oracle Corp, which is leading a group to buy TikTok.
The S&P 500 Index climbed 0.8% at 10.47am in New York on Friday, extending a rally from Thursday when the equity benchmark snapped a four-day losing streak. Information technology was the top-performing sector in the market. Carnival Corp was the top-performing stock in the index after quarterly earnings beat expectations, helping lift shares of fellow cruise operators.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index rose 0.9%, while the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%. A University of Michigan survey showed consumer sentiment ticking higher. Existing home sales also showed a small gain in November.
“There is still time for stocks to stage a Santa Claus rally, which historically comes during the final few trading days of the year,” said Alexander Guiliano, chief investment officer at Resonate Wealth Partners.
New York Fed president John Williams said there’s no urgency to further cut interest rates, and recent employment and inflation data have done little to change his outlook. The comments follow a cooler-than-expected inflation report from Thursday.
See also: US stocks stage comeback as CPI fuels Treasury gains
The Bank of Japan raised interest rates by 25 basis points to their highest level in 30 years overnight. The move was “no worse than feared” and helped push equities markets modestly higher, Sevens Report founder Tom Essaye wrote on Friday morning.
Meanwhile, a record US$7.1 trillion triple-witching options expiration will make parsing specific moves in the stock market on Friday extra difficult, said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co LLC.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc strategists predicted that the next phase of the market will come with more volatility. The bank’s trading desk also expects a Santa Claus rally through the end of 2025.
See also: S&P 500 rises on easing US inflation data, upbeat tech outlook
Many of the top-performing stocks Friday morning were in the tech sector. “US tech investors are looking to extend the Micron-driven optimism,” Vital Knowledge founder Adam Crisafulli wrote.
Uploaded by Felyx Teoh
