By Stephen Culp NEW YORK, Dec 24 (Reuters) – The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at record closing highs on Wednesday, while gold held just below the $4,500 mark by the conclusion of a light-volume, truncated Christmas Eve session. All three major U.S. stock indexes ended the session in positive territory, with the benchmark S&P 500 set to notch a gain of nearly 18% for the year. U.S. Treasury yields eased, while gold and silver edged back from record levels. For the year, the metals are on course to notch gains of 70% and 150%, respectively. "It's been a good year for stocks, there's no question about it, and most global markets followed suit," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York. "And it’s been a super year for precious metals." Economic data showed seasonally volatile initial jobless claims unexpectedly dipped 4.5% last week, while continuing claims surprised in the other direction, rising 2.0% to 1.923 million, echoing recent consumer surveys showing weakening jobs confidence, and supporting the case for additional interest-rate cuts from the U.S. Federal Reserve in the coming year. "I think (the Fed is) going to cut rates twice in 2026 because the labor market is a lot weaker than the numbers are telling us," Cardillo added. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 289.40 points, or 0.60%, to 48,731.81, the S&P 500 rose 22.34 points, or 0.32%, to 6,932.13 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 51.46 points, or 0.22%, to 23,613.31. Exchanges across the Atlantic closed early, with European shares ending their shortened holiday week near record highs and setting the stage for their strongest annual performance since 2021 amid easing interest rates. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe rose 2.41 points, or 0.24%, to 1,022.51. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.01%, while Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 0.89 points, or 0.04%. Emerging market stocks rose 5.74 points, or 0.41%, to 1,392.87. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed higher by 0.35%, at 716.93, while Japan's Nikkei fell 68.77 points, or 0.14%, to 50,344.10. U.S. Treasury yields declined in the wake of the jobless claims data. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 3.4 basis points to 4.136%, from 4.169% late on Tuesday. The 30-year bond yield fell 3.6 basis points to 4.7948% from 4.831% late on Tuesday. The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest-rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, fell 1.8 basis points to 3.51%, from 3.528% late on Tuesday. CURRENCY TRADERS EYE YEN The dollar was range-bound, and remained on course for its biggest annual drop since 2017 with more weakness possibly to follow in the coming year as investors weigh the likelihood of further easing from the Fed in 2026. Currency traders remain focused on the yen, alert to the possibility of intervention by Japanese authorities. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.1% to 98.00, with the euro down 0.18% at $1.1773. Crude oil prices gave up earlier gains and were last nominally lower as geopolitical jitters ebbed. Crude prices remained on a path toward their steepest yearly decline in five years. U.S. crude was flat at $58.36 a barrel and Brent fell to $62.25 per barrel, down 0.21% on the day. Gold pulled back slightly after breaching the $4,500 per ounce level for the first time ever. Spot gold fell 0.17% to $4,480.23 an ounce. U.S. gold futures rose 0.01% to $4,483.40 an ounce. (Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additional reporting by Stella Qiu in London; Editing by Chris Reese)
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