4:00pm: US equities close higher
US stocks closed higher on the first trading day of 2022 as investors bet that the economy will overcome a surge in COVID-19 caused by the Omicron variant.
Also, Apple shares gained to become the first company ever with a $3 trillion market valuation and Tesla shares jumped 13.5% in a single day, lifting automakers overall.
On the day, the DJIA jumped by 222 points, or 0.61%, to 36,555 and the S&P 500 increased 0.52% to 4,790.
And the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 170 points, or 1.09%, to 15,813.
12:10pm: US equities rise midday
US stocks were higher midday on the first trading day of 2022 despite the impact of the Omicron variant.
Investors head into the New Year modestly optimistic that the economy will overcome a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Also driving positive sentiment on Monday were automakers led by Telsa, which increased 10% after the electric vehicle company reported 308,600 deliveries in the fourth quarter to beat expectations.
As of noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 60 points, or 0.17%, to 36,398. The S&P 500 increased 9 points, or 0.19%, to 4,775.
And the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 91 points, or 0.58%, to 15,739.
9.35: Wall Street opens higher
US stocks rose to start 2022 as investors monitored cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and other factors that could weigh on stocks this year.
The S&P 500 gained 0.4% at the open, while the index ended 2021 up 27%, notching 70 record highs along the way.
Meanwhile, the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.8% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%.
“It’s going to be a little bit bumpier than 2021. The three big questions that we ended the year with are still here: Omicron, inflation and supply chains, and the Fed,” Esty Dwek, chief investment officer at FlowBank, told The Wall Street Journal. “There’s definitely potential for outperformance for equity markets. I don’t think we’ll see 20% plus but we could see double-digits.”
Shares of Tesla jumped 8% at the open after Elon Musk’s electric-vehicle maker grew at its fastest pace in years.
6.45am: US stocks poised to start higher
US stocks look set to start the first trading session of 2022 in positive fashion, shaking aside a disappointing end to 2021 on Friday as investors mull what the year ahead may offer.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose around 0.6%, while those for the S&P 500 gained almost 0.7%, and contracts for the tech-focused Nasdaq-100 also added 0.7% on Monday.
On New Year's Eve, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 59 points, or 0.2% lower at 36,338, while the broader S&P 500 fell 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.6%.
The S&P 500 index rose by 27% overall in 2021, its third straight year of double-digit gains and its best run since 1999, while the Dow and Nasdaq also notched up double-digit gains for the year, adding 19% and 22%, respectively.
Investors see a rockier path ahead for stocks in 2022 as the unwinding of the Federal Reserve’s bond-buying program and likely interest-rate increases could weigh on markets that have benefited from low rates during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Meanwhile, inflation reached a 39-year high in November and investors are worried that the COVID-19 Omicron variant could prolong supply-chain disruptions, adding further pressure to prices, although signs that Omicron variant may cause significantly less serious illness supported sentiment heading into the start of the year.
On the corporate front, in pre-market trading, Tesla shares jumped higher after the electric-vehicle maker said annual vehicle deliveries rose by 87% in 2021, growing at their fastest pace in years.