U.S. stocks are little changed as S&P 500 heads for 2014 gain

LONDON – U.S. stocks were little changed on the last trading day of a year that capped the biggest bull market since the 1990s.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.1 percent to 2,082.18 at 10:03 a.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 34.23 points, or 0.2 percent, to 18,017.30. The Nasdaq 100 Index jumped 0.3 percent. Trading in S&P 500 companies was 48 percent below the 30-day average for this time of the day. U.S. equity markets will be shut tomorrow for the New Year’s Day holiday.

“Equity indexes in the U.S. are near all-time highs, having outperformed many other developed markets, and various sentiment surveys are showing record-high optimism,” Benedict Goette, founder of asset-management firm Compass Capital AG in Zurich, wrote in an e-mail. “This makes markets highly vulnerable to a shift in risk perception.”

The S&P 500 closed at a record on Dec. 29 for the 53rd time this year as $1.1 trillion was added to American share values. The benchmark overcame five separate declines of 4 percent or more in 2014, while stocks have never once declined more than three straight times, a first in data compiled by Bloomberg going back to 2000.

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The index continued to climb this month, extending its annual advance to 13 percent, as the Federal Reserve pledged to be patient on the timing of interest-rate increases and the world’s largest economy expanded at the fastest pace in more than a decade.

Jobless claims rose by 17,000 to 298,000 in the week ended Dec. 27, from a revised 281,000 in the prior period, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for 290,000. Typical year-end holiday swings can make the data difficult to interpret.

Separate data showed contracts to purchase previously owned homes rose in November as employment gains and low borrowing costs helped bring potential buyers into the market.

Surpassing records

The Dow is heading for its sixth annual rally, while the Nasdaq Composite Index surpassed 18,000 for the first time last week. The Russell 2000 Index is also near its record high.

Eight of the 10 major groups in the S&P 500 have advanced this year. Utility shares jumped 27 percent, the largest advance, while a rout in oil prices has sent a gauge of energy companies down 9.3 percent this year, the most since 2008.

While the S&P 500 is heading for a third straight annual advance, the MSCI All-Country World Index excluding the U.S. is down 6.1 percent for the year. The divergence is a consequence of rising stocks and a strengthening dollar.

Global markets

Among 24 developed nations, the S&P 500 trailed only the stock-market returns in Denmark, New Zealand and Ireland in local currencies this year. When priced in dollars, however, the U.S. benchmark index tops the list.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a measure of demand for options on the S&P 500, gained 1.8 percent to 16.21 today, rising for a fourth straight day.

Six of 10 major industries in the S&P 500 advanced. Health- care and consumer-discretionary shares had the biggest gains, rising at least 0.6 percent. Energy shares slumped 1.1 percent as crude futures tumbled.

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