The New York Stock Exchange has traders on it.
Spencer Platt is a photographer.
The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were denied new record highs after giving up gains late in the trading session.
The benchmark index was close to setting a new record close. The six-day winning streak of the Dow was snapped.
The stock market will have a chance to close out the year on a high note. Despite being a federal holiday, it will be open on New Year's Eve. The bond market will close early. The time is later.
The US indexes stood at this location shortly after 4:00 pm. The close is on Thursday.
The markets got a boost early Thursday after the Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate fell to 198,000. The four-week moving average was the lowest since 1969.
Despite the spike in coronaviruses infections, the improvement came despite it. The seven-day rolling average of new cases has increased by more than 50% from the previous week.
The White House's chief medical adviser said that the latest COVID-19 wave could peak in the US by the end of January.
As the year comes to a close, investors are positioning themselves for the future, when they expect to see supply-chain issues, uncertainty regarding mid-term elections, and a Federal Reserve raising interest rates.
"Tapering and quantitative easing and Fed hikes are not so negative for equities as long as the pace is gentle," said the CEO of Quant Insights in a note Thursday. The data and sensitivities show that the Fed moving early is better than the Fed leaving it late and hitting the brakes harder.
Biogen dropped 8% after the South Korean conglomerate said it wasn't interested in buying the company.
After days of trading lower, the price of bitcoin rose 2.32% to $47,549.
MicroStrategy bought 1,194 bitcoins in December. The firm now has more than 124,000 bitcoins.
Oil prices went up. West Texas Intermediate was up 0.04% to $76.59 per barrel. The international benchmark for crude oil was up 0.11% to $79.32.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was 1.515%. Bond yields move with prices.
The price of gold rose to $1,816.09 per ounce.
Business Insider has an original article.
