Since the start of 2024, the S&P 500 has never once closed below its 200-day moving average, according to Bespoke Investment Group. Barring a sharp selloff between now and the end of the year, this would be only the 12th time since 1952 that this has happened.

Some of the biggest winners were mega-cap tech stocks, with Tesla up by 6% while Broadcom, Netflix, and Amazon each gained about 2%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is chock-full of industry-leading blue chip stocks -- many of which pay dividends. But the Dow tends to underperform the S&P 500 during growth-driven rallies when investors pile into companies based on their potential.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average went up 66.69 points or 0.2% to end at 42,906.95 for its third straight daily gain, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The S&P 500 went up 43.22 points or 0.7% to finish at 5,974.07.

US stocks looked set for a mostly muted open to a final, shortened trading session before the Christmas holiday,

A wave of AI uncertainty and valuation concerns have stopped this highflier in its tracks, but blistering gains could be on the horizon.

The Santa Claus rally got off to a strong start with Tesla leading the Nasdaq higher. Nvidia just topped a buy point.