US close: Markets boosted by pre-Christmas rally amid little economic data

US stocks were trading in the green on Monday boosted by the pre-Christmas rally after a weak day for economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.87% to 17,959.44 while the Nasdaq increased by 0.28% to 4,293.67 and S&P 500 rose 0.38% to 2,078.54.

Analysts seemed unfazed by the lack of economic data that surfaced on Monday.

IG market analyst Alastair McCaig said: “Today’s economic calendar is whisper quiet but tomorrow will offer a host of data that, given recent history, could well be enough to carry markets above their previous December highs.”

US existing home sales fell by 6.1% to 4.9m month-on-month in November. CMC Market analyst Jasper Lawler said: “Expectations had been for a modest rise but the housing recovery in the US in 2014 has been choppy at best.”

Meanwhile, oil prices experienced a volatile month following OPEC’s decision no to cut production.

Crude futures were advancing early in the day but WTI crude futures closed with a 3.403% loss to $55.25 a barrel and Brent futures finished with a 2.181% drop to $60.07 a barrel.

Lawyer noted: After oil prices seemingly stabilised with Brent around $60, the Saudi oil minister Ali Al-Naimi felt bold enough to call a bottom saying the drop is a temporary oversupply issue that the market will soon redress.

“It seems the rally in crude prices maybe a little further away than Al-Naimi envisions with his fellow OPEC member, the oil minister of Iraq Adel Abdul Mahdi announcing increased production next year.”

He added: “A big sell-off in natural gas sparked an implosion in commodity prices. Nat Gas dropped over 8% as fears spiked that the oversupply of US energy will be matched with lower demand in what has so far been a mild US winter.”

The yield on a benchmark US 10-year Treasury was flat at 2.16%.

In the corporate world, American Apparel rose 6.54% to 1.14 while AbbVie fell by 1.09% to 66.97 and Chevron sank 0.8% to 112.03.

Over on COMEX, gold futures were down 1.93% to $1,172.90 while the dollar advanced on both the pound and the yen but receded against the euro.

S&P 500 - Risers
Priceline Group Inc (PCLN) $1,149.45 +3.61%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $72.16 +3.50%
Raytheon Co. (RTN) $109.90 +2.88%
Legg Mason Inc. (LM) $54.33 +2.74%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $667.66 +2.49%
Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) $41.26 +2.48%
Google Inc. (GOOGL) $532.30 +2.36%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $93.16 +2.35%
Windstream Holdings Inc (WIN) $8.83 +2.32%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $37.21 +2.31%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $92.90 -14.34%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $26.19 -8.39%
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $7.91 -7.43%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $18.42 -7.25%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $29.31 -5.45%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $18.16 -5.02%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $57.07 -4.68%
Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR) $13.10 -3.96%
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $30.53 -3.93%
EQT Corp. (EQT) $77.65 -3.65%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $37.21 +2.31%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $161.44 +1.85%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $28.22 +1.62%
Boeing Co. (BA) $128.22 +1.58%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $103.50 +1.54%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $86.38 +1.43%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $94.20 +1.41%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $117.14 +1.34%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $74.14 +1.16%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $95.93 +1.15%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $58.96 -1.04%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $112.03 -0.80%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $93.33 -0.33%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Priceline Group Inc (PCLN) $1,149.45 +3.61%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $72.16 +3.50%
Google Inc. (GOOGL) $532.30 +2.36%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $93.16 +2.35%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $37.21 +2.31%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $306.54 +2.21%
Liberty Interactive Corp (QVCA) $29.15 +2.21%
Altera Corp. (ALTR) $38.01 +2.12%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $25.40 +2.05%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $43.87 +2.01%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $92.90 -14.34%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $412.97 -3.43%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $164.59 -3.28%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $113.50 -3.14%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $34.60 -2.34%
Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB) $352.29 -2.32%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $116.68 -1.87%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $147.48 -1.76%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $336.68 -1.01%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $71.94 -0.92%