Stock Market Live Updates: Record highs as Nasdaq crosses 9,000

Heidi Chung and Sam Ro
Updated

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4:00 p.m. ET: Record high close for the Dow, S&P and Nasdaq

Here were the main market moves, as of the close at 4:00 p.m. ET:

  • S&P 500 (^GSPC): 3,239.91, up 16.53 points or 0.51%

  • Dow (^DJI): 28,621.39, up 105.94 points or 0.37%

  • Nasdaq (^IXIC): 9,022.39, up 69.51 or 0.78%

  • Crude oil (CL=F): $61.27 per barrel, up $0.58 or 0.95%

  • Gold (GC=F): $1,516.00 per ounce, up $11.20 or 0.74%

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11:26 a.m. ET: Nasdaq 9,000

The tech heavy index briefly crossed the 9,000 mark for the first time ever.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is also trading at a record high 3,235.

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9:41: a.m. ET: S&P and Nasdaq set new record highs

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq set new intraday highs in early trading. The S&P 500 got as high as 3,231.05 and the Nasdaq touched 2,979.16.

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9:30 a.m. ET: Stocks open higher

Stocks opened higher across the board Thursday and continued their strong run headed into year-end.

Here were the main market moves, as of 9:30 a.m. ET:

  • S&P 500 (^GSPC): +0.17%, or 5.36 points

  • Dow (^DJI): +0.11%, or 30.96 points

  • Nasdaq (^IXIC): +0.20%, or 18.23 points

  • Crude oil (CL=F): +0.26% to $61.27 per barrel

  • Gold (GC=F): +0.58% to $1,513.50 per ounce

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8:38 a.m. ET: #TBT last year’s epic rebound

Last December came with a major market selloff that sent the S&P 500 down 20.0% from its Sept. 21, 2018 intraday high of 2940.91 to its Dec. 24, 2018 intraday low of 2351.1.

Dec. 26 was the beginning of a major market comeback with the Dow jumping 1,086 points, it’s biggest single-day point gain in history.

Read more about it in Yahoo Finance’s Morning Brief.

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8:30 a.m. ET: Initial jobless claims fall

Weekly initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to 222,000, down from 235,000 a week ago. Economists were expecting the number to decline to 220,000.

Jobless claims fall. While claims are trending higher, they remain at historically low levels.
Jobless claims fall. While claims are trending higher, they remain at historically low levels.

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8:10 a.m. ET: Futures point higher following reports of holiday spending growth

U.S. stock futures indicted a higher open across the major indices Thursday, as stocks continue their strong run headed into year-end.

Here were the main pre-market moves, as of 8:05 a.m. ET:

  • S&P futures (ES=F): +0.14%, or 4.50 points

  • Dow futures (YM=F): +0.10%, or 27 points

  • Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): +0.11%, or 9.75 points

  • Crude oil (CL=F): +0.11% to $61.18 per barrel

  • Gold (GC=F): +0.43% to $1,505.60 per ounce

With Christmas in the rearview mirror and the holiday shopping season drawing to a close, new data from Mastercard revealed total U.S. retail sales from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24 jumped 3.4% from the same period last year. Mastercard SpendingPulse tracks online and in-store purchases using all forms of payment. Shoppers preferred to use digital channels, with online sales surging 18.8% from last year and represented 14.6% of total sales. In-store sales rose a more modest 1.2%.

E-commerce behemoth Amazon (AMZN) announced that it had a record-breaking holiday season in a press release Thursday. Most notably, the company said more people tried Prime memberships this holiday season than any previous year. In just one week, more than 5 million new customers started Prime free trials or began paid memberships worldwide, according to Amazon. Furthermore, during the holiday season, the number of Prime Free One-Day and Prime Free Same-Day delivery nearly quadrupled from the same period last year.

Some of the best-selling items on Amazon during the holiday shopping season included toys, fashion, home and beauty products. Additionally, the number of Prime members who tried grocery delivery for the first time during the holiday season increased by a whopping 80%.

Santa Clause gestures on the floor at the closing bell of the Dow Industrial Average at the New York Stock Exchange on December 5, 2019 in New York. - Wall Street stocks finished slightly higher following a choppy session that avoided the big swings from earlier in the week on trade-oriented headlines. US and Chinese negotiators are working to finalize a preliminary trade deal announced in October that would block new tariffs expected to take effect this month. Officials have sent mixed signals on the talks, sending shares gyrating. (Photo by Bryan R. Smith / AFP) (Photo by BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images)
Santa Clause gestures on the floor at the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on December 5, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Bryan R. Smith / AFP) (Photo by BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images)

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Heidi Chung is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @heidi_chung.

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