S&P 500 posts 70th record close of 2021 | Dow rises for sixth straight day | Santa rally intact?

The S&P 500 on Wednesday posted its 70th record close of 2021, bringing its year-to-date return to 27.6%.

VIEW IN BROWSER | SUBSCRIBE WED, DEC 29, 2021 EVENING BRIEF AS OF WED, DEC 29, 2021 • 04:53 ET DJIA 36488.63 +0.25% +90.42 S&P 500 4793.06 +0.14% +6.71 NASDAQ 15766.22 -0.10% -15.51   Most Active DOW NAME LAST CHG %CHG AAPL 179.38 +0.09 +0.05% VZ 52.36 -0.36 -0.68% CSCO 63.96 +0.43 +0.68% S&P 500 NAME LAST CHG %CHG AAPL 179.38 +0.09 +0.05% AMD 148.26 -4.89 -3.19% F 20.56 -0.20 -0.96% NASDAQ NAME LAST CHG %CHG AAPL 179.38 +0.09 +0.05% AMD 148.26 -4.89 -3.19% NVDA 300.01 -3.21 -1.06%   EDITOR'S NOTE The S&P 500 on Wednesday posted its 70th record close of 2021, bringing its year-to-date return to 27.6%. The benchmark index has closed at a high 28% of the time this year.   The Dow Jones Industrial Average also notched a record close — its latest since November — and rose for a sixth straight day.   "The equity market has been throwing a pretty good party for the last three months and really all year long," Wells Fargo Investment Institute's Scott Wren said in a note Wednesday. "It appears the rally could very well put the S&P 500 at, or at least very near, an all-time record high as we close out the year." The tech-heavy Nasdaq bucked the trend and dipped 0.1%. Higher-growth technology stocks struggled as the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield surged above 1.5%. Rising rates discount the value of future earnings and therefore can hit growth stocks particularly hard.    There are two trading sessions left in 2021. Historically, the market rises during the "Santa Claus rally" period — the last five trading days of December and the first two of January.   The S&P 500 since 1928 has returned about 1.7% on average during the Santa Claus rally period. Hannah Miao | CNBC Associate Markets Reporter @HannahMiao_ Watch our live stream for all you need to know to invest smarter. TOP NEWS  S&P 500 posts 70th record close, Dow rises for sixth straight day U.S. Covid cases rise to pandemic high as delta and omicron circulate at same time Fauci predicts omicron Covid wave will peak in U.S. by end of January More than half of U.S. states will raise their minimum wage in 2022, but employers are hiking pay faster Here are the top internet stock picks for 2022 as selected by Evercore ISI Biden to speak to Putin on Thursday as Russia builds up military presence on Ukraine border Market gains may be harder to come by in 2022, but it could still be a positive year Battleground stocks: Analysts are most torn about GameStop and these other names heading into 2022 Apple ditched Intel, and it paid off The rich benefit as Democrats retreat from tax on unrealized capital gains   TOP VIDEO Look for opportunities in financials and health care in 2022, says Odyssey Advisors's Jason Snipe   CNBC PRO Solar stocks had a tough year, but Wall Street is sticking by the trade. Here are analysts' top picks   SPECIAL REPORTS There are partial outages at Vanguard. What to do if you can't make a required minimum distribution by Dec. 31 Cryptocurrency prices fall in December and investors blame omicron, climate change   Unsubscribe Manage Newsletters Terms of Service Join the CNBC Panel Digital Products Feedback Privacy Policy   © 2021 CNBC LLC. All rights reserved. A property of NBCUniversal. 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes and Market Data and Analysis. Data also provided by THOMSON REUTERS