Wall Street closes in scattered order after a volatile week

US stock indexes were mixed ahead of the three-day Christmas holiday weekend. While an arctic blast caused travel chaos across the US, the last trading days of the year were marked by low volumes.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 283 points, or 0.86%, at 33,203.93. The S&P 500 edged down 0.20%, at 3,844.82, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 207 points, or 1.94%, at 10,497.86.

In Europe, the MSCI EMU gained 0.55% week-over-week and the FTSE rose 1.92%.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei shed 4.69% as the Bank of Japan stunned markets by tweaking its yield control and allowing long-term interest rates to rise more, a move market players see as a prelude to a further withdrawal of its massive stimulus programme. Same trend for the Shanghai composite, down 3.85% though Beijing was reducing requirements on inbound travellers to the country, dropping a mandatory quarantine period for just a negative PCR test. Furthermore, the People’s Bank of China issued a statement confirming that it would support a recovery in consumption and guide financial institutions to back property sector mergers and acquisitions.

Energy sector heating up

WTI crude oil prices rose again this week (+7.09%), pushing the energy sector higher (up 4.38% for the week) after Russia hinted at cutting oil output by 5-7% in early 2023 to offset the price cap imposed by the European Union and G7 nations.

Two sectors weighed on the broad-based indexes. Consumer discretionary shares performed worst (down 3.10%), dragged lower by a steep decline in Tesla (TSLA down 18%) following the EV maker’s announcement of increased price discounts. Information technology (down 2.04%) was hit by rising yields, in response to actions by Japan’s central bank. Apple (APPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) stocks lost 1.97% and 2.44% respectively.

Please note this article is for information purposes only and does not in any way constitute investment advice. It is essential that you seek advice from a registered financial professional prior to making any investment decision.