Wall: ‘Fighting’ to keep new Dow and S&P high – Nasdaq up

LAST UPDATE: 21:39

Wall Street has slowed down, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 struggling for some time to break new records as they move into the penultimate session of the year, with the buying mood partly fueled by the belief that the pandemic outbreak due to of the Omicron superconducting variant will not cause permanent damage to the economy.

Investors are also digesting data on new US unemployment benefit applications, which for the past week remained close to a 52-year low, but with labor shortages on record.

On the board, the Dow Jones industrial average, despite the marginal rise of 0.08% or 30 points, is moving to new highs, at 36,519.36 points, while its 71st record for this year is sought by the broader S&P 500, recording gains of 0, 15% at 4,800.20 points. As for the technological Nasdaq, which yesterday followed the opposite course from the other two, today presents a better picture and strengthens by 0.49% to 15,843.40 units.

It is noted that yesterday the blue chips index gained 0.3% and made the 6X6 achieving its 45th record at the end of the year, while the S&P 500 with an increase of 0.14% set its 70th record for this year. Nasdaq failed to follow, recording losses of 0.1%

For the week, the Dow is heading for gains of 1.5%, the S&P 500 is up 1.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite is up 0.7%. For the month, the Dow is on track for gains of 5.8%, with the S&P 500 following with + 5% and the Nasdaq adding 1.5%. Finally, for the year, the index of blue chips rises by 19%, the S&P 500 gains by 28%, while the Nasdaq so far this year adds 22%.

At the end of the day, investors welcomed the latest labor market data, which showed that 198,000 Americans applied for unemployment benefits during the week ended December 25, remaining near the 52-year low despite the rising volatility. Ομικρον.

Initial jobless claims fell slightly from the revised 206,000 two weeks ago.

Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal predicted that new applications would reach the seasonally adjusted 205,000.

The buying mood of investors, however, is fueled by the encouraging data of the last weeks for the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, which based on the preliminary data indicate that this particular strain causes milder symptoms than previous executives, although there are concerns that it does not have still affect key sectors of the economy.

The number of Americans hospitalized with COVID-19 is estimated at about 60,000, or about half that of January, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although new cases are setting daily records.