Stock market today: Live updates

The S&P 500 rose on Monday, spurred by a rise in technology shares, to start a shortened holiday week.

The broad market index gained 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 238 points, or 0.5%. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.6%.

Key stocks linked to artificial intelligence offered a boost to the broader market. Nvidia shares moved higher by more than 1% after Reuters said the company is looking to begin shipments of its H200 chips to China by mid-February. Meanwhile, Micron Technology and Oracle traded up around 2% each.

Wall Street is coming off a mixed week for the major averages. A late-week surge in tech stocks helped lift the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite to their third winning week in four, up 0.1% and 0.5%, respectively. The 30-stock Dow, which has outperformed this month, fell 0.7%, snapping a three-week winning streak.

However, investors are watching to see whether AI stocks can retain their leadership heading into the year-end, especially as investors rotate into cheaper parts of the market amid concerns about lofty tech valuations. There’s also doubt about whether a Santa Claus rally will materialize, as the S&P 500 struggles to hold a key technical level.

“From a market perspective, there’s not a whole bunch of things that are going to move it, in my opinion, so everybody is, rightfully so, looking for the Santa Claus rally,” Will McGough, deputy chief investment officer at Prime Capital Financial, said to CNBC.

He added that he’s watching to see at what level the markets end at, especially with the S&P 500 nearing the 7,000 level. Currently, the index has jumped about 17% in 2025. That’s after it recorded a gain of more than 24% and more than 23% in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

With the index close to scoring a three-peat of 20% gains, which would be a “pretty rare” move, McGough said that he is “constructively optimistic” on the market for next year but that investors should brace for some volatility.

 “The market is forecasting like 14% earnings growth for 2026-2027, which is a big number,” the deputy CIO said. “There’s going to be hiccups along the way,” he continued, citing a new Fed chair and the midterm elections as potential catalysts for turbulence.

The New York Stock Exchange will close early on Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET on Christmas Eve and will be closed Thursday for Christmas Day.