Dow, S&P 500 close at new record highs

NEW YORK, USA – US stocks Monday, December 23, jumped to new records after strong economic data gave new momentum to last week’s rally.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 73.47 (0.45%) to 16,294.61, while the broad-based S&P 500 advanced 9.67 (0.53%) to 1,827.99. Both were new records, building on record closes from Friday.

Meanwhile, the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 44.16 (1.08%) at 4,148.90.

The new peaks came after fresh Commerce Department data pointed to a 0.5% increase in consumer spending in November, the second month in a row to see a rise.

An estimate of consumer confidence by the University of Michigan also showed an improvement in December.

“The economic news was very good,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital. “It’s all about the economy expanding at a faster rate.”

Monday’s data came on the heels of last week’s surprising upgrade to the third-quarter estimate of gross domestic product growth and a move by the US Federal Reserve to scale back its bond-buying program due to the improving economy. – Rappler.com