S&P 500 closes at record highs ahead of Christmas holiday as Santa rally continues

Benchmark indices on Wall Street gained for the fourth day in a row as investors digested the last major day of economic data prints before the year draws to a close.

The S&P 500 ended at record highs powered by the tech stocks, while the Nasdaq outperformed with gains of over 0.6%. The Dow Jones also ended higher, but traded in a very narrow range through the day.

The US Dollar index fell below the mark of 98 on Tuesday, extending the slump and setting the greenback on course for its worst annual performance since 2017. On the flip side, Gold and Silver continued to scale new records, with Gold prices topping $4,500 and Silver crossing the $70 an ounce mark. Copper prices have also crossed the $12,000 per tonne mark in the global markets.

A delayed third quarter GDP print showed the US economy growing at a strong 4.3%, well above the average estimates of economists that ranged between 3.5% to 3.8%. Apart from the delayed GDP, industrial production remained flat, durable goods orders fell more than expected, while consumer sentiment fell for the fifth straight month.

US President Donald Trump attributed the GDP growth to his tariff regime, and added that the US Fed should bring interest rates down when the economy and markets do well, not the other way round. He also went on to write on Truth Social that anyone who disagrees with him on this "will never become the next Fed Chair."

Soon after, one of the contenders for the post, Kevin Hassett, the White House National Economic Council Director, said that the US has been way behind the curve in cutting interest rates. He went on to add that AI spending is currently boosting economic growth, while simultaneously putting downward pressure on inflation.

Today's session on Wall Street will be a truncated one as the markets will close early before Thursday's Christmas holiday.