The S&P 500 closed at a record high on Monday, thereby kickstarting the launch of the anticipated year-end bull run known as the Santa Claus rally. This term refers to the projection whereby stocks are expected to climb higher during the final five trading days of the year.
While U.S. stock futures remained stagnant, Monday was an all-around strong day of trading in New York, with the S&P 500 reaching its 69th record close for the year. Dow Jones and Nasdaq remained relatively unchanged during Monday’s trading.
Despite the ongoing spread of the omicron coronavirus variant, a positive investor outlook was achieved since recent developments indicated that this variant is resulting in far fewer hospitalizations than was initially feared.
Rik Mehta, an FDA official and Georgetown University health law professor, explained that the threat of the omicron strain is being quashed by the treatment options that are being made available. “[Treatment options] that will keep people that are vaccinated and unvaccinated out of the hospitals and from developing severe infection. That’s going to be a game-changer for this.”
While the omicron variant poses a minimal threat, travel stocks stagnated due to canceled flights over the festive period. This disruption was the result of staff shortages, many of which were caused by COVID-19 infections.
American Airlines and United Airlines slipped by 0.49% and 0.65% to $18.17 and $44.58 respectively, while Delta Airlines fell by 0.76% to $39.00.
