S&P 500, Dow Closed at a Record on Christmas Eve; Nasdaq Finish Up in Quiet Session; Shortened Trading Hours; Nvidia, Tesla, Nike, and More Movers
The S&P 500 rallied to an all-time high on Wednesday, its first Christmas Eve record since 2013.
It was a quiet, though productive day. The S&P 500 rose 0.3%. The Dow gained 288 points, or 0.6%, and closed at a new record, too. The Nasdaq advanced 0.2%.
The CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, closed below 14 for the first time since Dec. 2025. It was everything you would hope a Christmas Eve trading day would be.
Given the strength of the stock market in recent years, it may come as a surprise that the S&P 500 hasn’t closed at a record high on Christmas Eve since 2013. The S&P 500, after all, has gained “just” 18% this year, a far cry from 2013’s 30%. The S&P 500 also hit plenty of records in 2017, 2018, 2021, 2023, and 2024—all years with gains of more than 19%—yet the index couldn’t find a way to give investors a present by closing at a record high those years.
It’s hard to tell what makes this year special. Maybe it was the rocky November that set things up for some dip buying in December. Maybe it’s because investors feel comfortable alternating between AI and Big Tech on the one hand, and beneficiaries of a strong economy on the other, following a blowout GDP reading. The State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF gained 1% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF rose 0.5%.
Or maybe it’s just that things don’t look all that bad from a market perspective this year. The economy is growing, profits are too, volatility is low, and there’s not all that much to worry about heading into Christmas Day.
