Wall Street Sees Post-Holiday Gains, Oil Rallies, Intel Leads: What's Driving Markets Tuesday?

The U.S. stock market saw modest gains in a session characterized by low trading volumes following the Christmas holiday. The S&P 500 Index gained 0.3% during midday trading in New York, eyeing its all-time highs, which are 1% above the current levels.

Tech stocks within the Nasdaq 100 index experienced a slight uptick of 0.4%, while blue-chip stocks rose by 0.2%.

Small-cap stocks, as represented by the iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM, continued to outperform large-cap indices, extending the market narrative from December.

The dollar saw a marginal 0.2% decrease, while Treasury yields remained stable. Gold recorded a 0.3% increase, reaching $2,060 per ounce, while Bitcoin BTC/USD experienced a 3% decline.

Oil prices rallied, with WTI crude prices surging by over 3% to $76 per barrel on Tuesday, driven in part by intensified disruptions in Red Sea trade.

Tuesday’s Performance In US Major Indices, ETFs

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was 0.3% higher to $474.28, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF DIA was 0.1% higher to $374.41 and the Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ inched up 0.3% to $409.02, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Sector-wise, staples and utilities outperformed, with both the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund XLP and the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund XLU up 0.9%.

The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund XLY was the only sector in the red, down 0.3%.

Among industries, the VanEck Oil Services ETF OIH led gains, up 2%, while airlines lagged behind, with the U.S. Global Jets ETF JETS falling 0.4%.

Tuesday’s Stock Movers

• Intel Corp INTC shares rose 4.4% after announcing its $25-billion investment plan in Israel, with $3.2 billion in government incentives secured.
• Plug Power Inc. PLUG rose nearly 5% after the Biden administration unveiled tax credits to hydrogen producers on Friday.
• Shares of Manchester United MANU surged close to 3% after British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe committed to purchasing 25% of the club’s Class B shares and as much as 25% of its Class A shares at a price of $33 each.
• Apple Inc. AAPL eased 0.2% after the White House decided Tuesday to uphold the sales ban on Apple.
• Shares of Carnival Corp. CCL and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. NCLH dipped by 2.5% and 2.6%, respectively, retracting after a period of robust gains.

Read now: What’s Going On With Manchester United Stock Today?

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