U.S. stocks rallied Tuesday, with the Nasdaq Composite Index eking out a new closing record, as investors mainly assessed economic data on the first trading day after the long holiday weekend.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 11.23 points, or 0.06 percent, to 19,945.04. The S&P 500 gained 5.09 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,268.88.
The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 24.75 points, or 0.45 percent, to 5,487.44.
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index came in at 113.7 in December, up from 109.4 in November. Trading volume was expected to be thin Tuesday as investors had little news to digest and global equities were largely unchanged.
"This week into next week is when investors usually see the fabled 'Santa Claus Rally'," said Stephen Guilfoyle, president of Sarge986. "Now that we've penciled in the next correction, or even the next severe test for Jan. 4, we all know that a test to the downside is out there, somewhere," he added.
Overseas, European equities closed slightly higher Tuesday in thin holiday trade. German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange inched up 0.19 percent, while British benchmark FTSE 100 Index added 0.06 percent. In Asia, Chinese stocks declined Tuesday as capital in the market remained tight, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index going down 0.25 percent to 3,114.66 points. U.S. markets were closed Monday in observance of the Christmas Day holiday.
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