Some of the biggest winners were mega-cap tech stocks, with Tesla up by 6% while Broadcom, Netflix, and Amazon each gained about 2%.

Since the start of 2024, the S&P 500 has never once closed below its 200-day moving average, according to Bespoke Investment Group. Barring a sharp selloff between now and the end of the year, this would be only the 12th time since 1952 that this has happened.

US stocks looked set for a mostly muted open to a final, shortened trading session before the Christmas holiday,

The Dow Jones rose on the stock market today. Magnificent Seven names Amazon and Nvidia were strong. American Airlines stock skidded.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average went up 66.69 points or 0.2% to end at 42,906.95 for its third straight daily gain, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The S&P 500 went up 43.22 points or 0.7% to finish at 5,974.07.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is chock-full of industry-leading blue chip stocks -- many of which pay dividends. But the Dow tends to underperform the S&P 500 during growth-driven rallies when investors pile into companies based on their potential.

Traders are also weighing the outlook for interest rate cuts in 2025 in light of recent inflation data. Personal consumption expenditures inflation, the Fed's preferred inflation measure, rose 2.4% year-per-year in November, slightly under expectations.

The Santa Claus rally got off to a strong start with Tesla leading the Nasdaq higher. Nvidia just topped a buy point.

A wave of AI uncertainty and valuation concerns have stopped this highflier in its tracks, but blistering gains could be on the horizon.