S&P 500 closes at another fresh record in holiday-shortened session

The S&P 500 rose to a new all-time high on Wednesday, coasting to another record close.

The broad market index advanced 0.32%, ending the session at 6,932.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 288.75 points, or 0.60%, and also posted a closing record of 48,731.16. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.22% and settled at 23,613.31.

Nike was among the day's winners, advancing 4.6% after Apple CEO Tim Cook disclosed he bought shares in the apparel maker. Micron Technology and Citigroup were other standouts, with shares up 3.8% and 1.8%, respectively, and both hitting fresh highs during the session.

Stocks were coming off a winning session, led by tech names including Google parent Alphabet, Nvidia, Broadcom and Amazon. The S&P 500 posted a fresh record close of 6,909.79 on Tuesday.

Those moves came after the Commerce Department issued its a third-quarter reading of the U.S. gross domestic product that came in at 4.3%, surpassing the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 3.2%.The report, which had been delayed by the government shutdown, initially led traders to lower their expectations of interest rate cuts early next year. However, fed funds futures trading still indicates two rate cuts by the end of 2026, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Investors continue to hope for the coveted Santa Claus rally, a year-end stock market surge that occurs between the last five trading days of the year and the first two of the new year. This year, that’s from the opening bell on Dec. 24 until Jan. 5.