4.05pm: Dow gains more than 200 points
US stocks finished the trading session higher for a second-straight day as consumer confidence rose more than expected this month and the 3Q gross domestic product (GDP) figure was revised upward.
At the close, the Dow gained 261 points to 35,754, while the S&P 500 added 47 points at 4,697 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 181 points to 15,522.
Notable movers included shares of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), which surged more than 6% after company CEO Elon Musk said he had reached his goal of selling 10% of his shares for tax reasons.
12.05pm:
Major US indexes advanced midday after three consecutive sessions of declines with investors continuing to evaluate the risks posed by the Omicron variant of coronavirus.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 153 points, or 0.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was ahead 139 points, or 0.9%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 rose 34 points, or 0.7% to 4,683.
“We remain caught within a period of uncertainty as markets attempt to gauge exactly how disruptive this Omicron wave is going to be for businesses,” said Joshua Mahony, Senior Market Analyst at IG, a global online trading platform.
“The upgraded third quarter GDP reading out of the US helped highlight how the economy continued to strengthen over the course of September, putting the 2021 figure on track for the best rate of growth since 1984. Nonetheless, we are widely expecting to see economic activity drop-off in the coming weeks, with Christmas sales taking a hit as cases and hospitalisations rise.”
11am: Proactive North America headlines:
Tesla boss Elon Musk sells “enough stock” to reach 10% goal
Milestone Scientific announces sale of its CompuFlo Epidural and CathCheck Verification System disposables to a Northeast teaching hospital
Marble Financial CEO reflects on "transformational" year that saw the company position itself to expand its alternative financial offering in 2022
Stifel reiterates 'Buy' rating on HighGold (TSX-V:HIGH, OTCQX:HGGOF) Mining following latest drill results from Alaska
SPYR (OTCQB:SPYR) Technologies says its Applied MagixDrive TV commercials are set to air
Todos Medical announces new agreement for CLIA/CAP laboratory Provista Diagnostics with physician group in 40 States
Recruiter.com releases 2022 job market predictions, says importance of talent will continue to grow
Vuzix says CNH Industrial has deployed its M400 smart glasses for training efforts
BetterLife Pharma welcomes key new investor group for its Altum Pharmaceuticals subsidiary
Boosh sees sales rev up with 75 new accounts in Canada while onboarding 25 new accounts every month
Kontrol Technologies poised to leverage its SmartSuite technology in Quebec's demand response energy market
Gevo hires Staci Bogue-Buchholz as site and process optimization leader at its Luverne facility
Harbor Custom Development closes $4.8M sale of 24 developed lots in Washington to MainVue Homes
Potent Ventures announces plans to change its name to The Gummy Project
Cypress Development pleased with pilot plant's performance in Nevada as it extends lease of facility to 2025
CLS Holdings USA (CSE:CLSH, OTCQB:CLSH) says its City Trees brand wins first place in two categories at High Times Cannabis Cup
Global Energy Metals well positioned for success as world turns to greener future, says CEO Smith
The Valens Company (TSX:VLNS, OTCQX:VLNCF) partners with Montreal Cannabis Médical for extraction and manufacturing of pre-rolls and vapes
Mednow sees fiscal 1Q revenue growth speed up as it builds digital pharmacies and interdisciplinary model of care across Canada
Mydecine to work with Maya to develop a novel digital therapeutics platform for more personalized patient care
Victory Resources identifies two 'significant' anomalies from IP survey at Mal-Wen; terminates agreement with Silver Range Resources (AIM:RRL, ASX:RRS) on Loner
American Manganese says 2021 has laid a "strong foundation" for growth next year
9.50am: Wall Street makes muted start
US stocks made a muted to flat start on Wednesday as traders continued to fret about the Omicron variant ahead of the holiday weekend.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added around nine points at 35,502.
The S&P 500 was near flat at 4,648, while the Nasdaq Composite Index lost around 23 points to stand at 15,317.
"Trading volumes will continue to fall heading into the holiday weekend, but risk appetite will struggle to deliver a significant stock market rally as the Omicron variant still poses a major risk for many healthcare systems," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda, who noted the rush was now on to secure treatments.
"The Biden administration is expected to acquire 4 million courses of COVID-19 treatments by the end of January, while the UK secured 1.75 million courses of Merck's COVID pill and 2.5 million courses of Pfizer’s COVID treatment," he said.
"In the US, a return to lockdowns seen earlier in the pandemic are unlikely, but the US consumer will be weaker as many Americans won't have the same benefits if their jobs have tentative closures," he added.
In company news, Tesla shares accelerated over 4% higher after Elon Musk revealed he had reached his goal of selling 10% of his shares for tax reasons.
6.30am: US shares set to ease back
US stocks look set to ease back on Wednesday reversing some of the previous session's gains which saw it snap a three-day losing streak as hopes for a Santa rally are balanced by fears over the Omicron coronavirus (COVID-19) variant.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.1% lower, those for the S&P 500 index ticked down 0.2%, and contracts for the Nasdaq-100 shed 0.3%.
Stocks have been see-sawing in the run-up to Christmas as investors seek to determine how severe the economic impact of the rapid spread of the Omicron variant will be.
Investors are also preparing for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in 2022 and squaring positions before the year-end.
On the data front, The Conference Board’s latest consumer confidence index, due at 10.00am ET, is forecast to tick higher, after inflation and the pandemic knocked sentiment in November.
Real estate market data, due at the same time, are expected to show sales of existing homes rose for a third consecutive month in November.