S&P 500 poised to open record high thanks to strong retail sales report

A decoration hangs from a Christmas tree outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on the last trading day before Christmas in Manhattan, New York, United States on December 23, 2021. REUTERS / Andrew Kelly

Dec. 27 (Reuters) – The S&P 500 was scheduled to open near an intraday high on Monday, as strong retail sales underscored the strength of the economy and eclipsed concerns over flight cancellations caused by Omicron at the start of the month. last week of trading this year.

Retail sales rose 8.5% during this year’s holiday shopping season, from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24, thanks to surging e-commerce sales, according to a report from Mastercard Inc. Read More following

“Despite the variant and travel disruptions, retail sales have risen sharply, which bodes well for the economy as we enter the new year,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.

Travel-related stocks, generally sensitive to news around the coronavirus, fell after US airlines canceled numerous flights for a third day on Sunday as the surge in COVID-19 cases forced weekend travelers Christmas to change plans. Read more

Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) United Airlines, American Airlines (AAL.O) and Southwest Airlines (LUV.N) fell between 1.6% and 2.1% pre-market. Cruise lines Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH.N), Royal Caribbean (RCL.N) and Carnival Corp (CCL.N) fell 2.5% to 3%.

“The market will continue to recover although the fear factor of the virus remains prevalent in the market,” Cardillo said.

The S&P 500 closed at a record high Thursday, as bullish news related to the Omicron coronavirus variant calmed investors’ nerves over the economic impact of the highly infectious strain after it rocked markets earlier this month. Read more

The three major Wall Street indices are forecasting a third consecutive annual gain, with the benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) on track to end the year up 25.8%. The Dow Jones is expected to rise 17.5%, while the Nasdaq is forecasting a rise of 21.4%.

As of 8:20 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 82 points, or 0.23%, and S&P 500 e-minis were up 17.25 points, or 0.37%.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis rose 76 points, or 0.47%, as mega-cap company Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Meta Platform (FB.O) strengthened between 0.5% and 1.5%.

Looking ahead, lower than usual trading volumes ahead of New Years could make markets susceptible to volatile movements, although the last five trading days of December and the first two days of January have been good. bodes well for U.S. stocks 75% of the time since 1945, according to data from CFRA Research. Read more

GoDaddy Inc (GDDY.N) rose 5.2% after activist investor report Starboard Value LP bought 6.5% stake in web services company worth around 800 millions of dollars.

Chinese ridesharing giant Didi Global Inc (DIDI.N) has banned current and former employees from selling company shares indefinitely, the Financial Times reported on Monday. Didi’s US-listed shares fell 0.7%. Read more

Reporting by Medha Singh and Anisha Sircar in Bangalore; edited by Uttaresh.V

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