The Dow rose during the abbreviated Christmas Eve trading session. | Source:Yahoo Finance
The Dow advanced (************************************************************************************. ************************************************************************************ (points or 0.) % to (****************************************************************************, . as the blue-chip index extended its winning streak to four.
The S&P (edged 0.) points or 0. 06% higher to 3, . (********************************************************************.
The Nasdaq ticked up 3. points or 0. (% to 8,) ******************************************************. .
The gold price set the $ 1, mark in its sights , spiking 0.4% to just under $ 1, The stock
market closes at 1 pm ET today. It will remain closed on Christmas and reopen with normal trading hours on Dec.
‘Super Saturday’ Points to Strength in the US Economy
Strong consumer spending helped fortify the US economic expansion throughout 2019. Concerns about consumer sector healthbegan to mount toward the end of the year , after a series of conflicting data releases raised questions about whether the manufacturing recession had begun to seize a foothold in the wider economy too.
But if a stellar “Super Saturday” is any indication, the US consumer is doing just fine.
Data from research firm Customer Growth Partners reveals that thefinal Saturday before Christmas brought US retailers $ 34 .4 billion in sales , making it the best day in US retail history. That easily eclipsed Black Friday 2019, which saw $ (.2 billion in sales.)
Dec ************** 24 was the US retail industry’s best day ever. | Source:Bloomberg
That may be partly due to a quirk of the calendar. Thanksgiving fell later than usual, shortening the holiday shopping season by almost a full week.
Regardless, it suggests that December’s retail sales data will point to strength in the US economy when the Census Bureau reveals the official statistics on Jan.
)
BTIG: Stock Market Could Surge (% in)
Healthy economic data would vindicate bullish forecasts from the likes of BTIG’s Julian Emanuel, who believes the S&P********************************** could surge more than (% in (**************************************************.
Despite rocketing nearly (******************************************************************% off its Christmas Eve 2019 lows, Emanuel believes investors were surprisingly skeptical about the sustainability of th e recovery. He predicts appetites could return in next year, potentially priming the stock market for another historic year.
************************** BTIG’s Julian Emanuel says the S&P 500 could spiral as high as 3, 2018 next year. | Source:Yahoo Finance
********************************
“We think confidence will ultimately translate into the public getting this enthusiasm for stocks which could cause prices to move as high as 3, (********************************************************, “Emanuel told CNBC.
” In any great bull market, whether you think of technology in 2000 or houses over the course of the last couple of decades, it always ends or at least gets closer to the end when the public gets enthusiastic, ”he continued. “We think this is the year.”
Emanuel maintains an “official” (S&P) ************************************************************ (price target of 3, – a respectable, if unspectacular, 7% rise from its present level.
But he says there’s a strong possibility the S&P (spirals as high as 3,********************************, constituting a
************************************************************************% surge. An equivalent move in the Dow would lift the blue-chip index to nearly (****************************************************************, , while the Nasdaq would soar as high as (********************************************************************************, .
This article was edited by (Sam Bourgi******************************
************************************* (**************************************
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings