The S&P 500 ($SPX ) closed up +0.32% at a new all-time record high of 6,932.05, capping a strong year with gains of over 17% YTD.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose +0.60% to a record, while the Nasdaq Composite gained +0.22%. Trading volume was light due to the holiday, but the broad advance reflected continued optimism driven by AI growth themes and economic resilience.

This positive close kicked off the traditional Santa Claus rally period (last five trading days of the year plus the first two of the next), which historically averages ~1.6% gains for the S&P 500.

Here are visual examples of S&P 500 heat maps showing stock and sector performance (typically treemaps sized by market cap, colored green for gains/red for losses).

On this upbeat day, most areas showed green dominance, especially in tech and growth sectors.

cheers to a prosperous 2026!

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