Stocks rally a second day | Options trading activity hits a record

Stocks rally a second day | Options trading activity hits a record | Small-cap snapback in January?

WED, DEC 22, 2021

EVENING BRIEF

AS OF WED, DEC 22, 2021 • 04:53 ET

DJIA		35753.89
		+0.74%	+261.19

S&P 500		4696.56
		+1.02%	+47.33

NASDAQ		15521.89
		+1.18%	+180.80

Most Active

DOW
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AAPL	175.64	+2.65	+1.53%
MSFT	333.20	+5.91	+1.81%
INTC	50.97	+0.20	+0.39%

S&P 500
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AAPL	175.64	+2.65	+1.53%
F	20.14	+0.53	+2.70%
PFE	59.55	+0.60	+1.02%

NASDAQ
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AAPL	175.64	+2.65	+1.53%
AMD	143.88	-0.37	-0.26%
NVDA	294.00	+3.25	+1.12%

EDITOR'S NOTE

U.S. stocks rallied for a second day on Wednesday as the market continued to rebound from a sell-off spurred by fears about the omicron variant.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 261.19 points. The S&P 500 climbed 1%, and the Nasdaq Composite added nearly 1.2%. Trading remained relatively thin ahead of the holidays.

Positive news on the pandemic front boosted sentiment. The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday granted emergency use authorization for Pfizer's Covid pill, the first antiviral drug against the virus for at-home use. Pfizer shares gained 1%.

"For the first time seemingly since Thanksgiving, markets appear to finally be calming down as trading activity subsides ahead of the Christmas holiday," said Chris Hussey, a managing director at Goldman Sachs. "The triple headwinds of rising virus cases, a more hawkish Fed, and elusive fiscal stimulus are absorbed into risk-asset prices."

December, normally the calmest month for markets, has so far been the most volatile month of 2021, according to Bespoke Investment Group. The firm looked at the S&P 500's average absolute daily change since 1953.

Wall Street's "fear gauge," the Cboe Volatility Index, spiked above 35 earlier this month and has traded around the 20 threshold. It dipped as low as 18.59 on Wednesday.