S&P 500 closes at record high; Dow Jones adds 288 points

US stocks rose at the close of the shortened Dec. 24 session, supported by continued momentum in the technology sector, pushing Wall Street to its fifth consecutive session of gains.

At the close of the session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.60%, or 288 points, to 48,731.

The broader S&P 500 index gained 0.32%, or 22 points, to 6,932, marking a new record close, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.22%, or 51 points, to 23,613.

In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 index was little changed at 588.63 points at the end of the session, after closing at a record 588.73 points in the previous session.

Meanwhile, the UK’s FTSE 100 declined 0.19% to 9,870 points, France’s CAC 40 was flat at 8,103 points, while German financial markets were closed for the Christmas holiday.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.15% to 50,344 points, while the broader Topix index declined 0.45% to 3,407 points.

In oil markets, Brent crude February futures fell 0.22%, or 14 cents, to $62.24 per barrel.

Meanwhile, US Nymex crude February futures edged up 3 cents to $58.35 per barrel at the close.

As for gold, February gold futures were steady at $4,502.80 per ounce, after ending the previous session at a record $4,505.70.

Official data released showed that US initial jobless claims declined by 10,000 in the week ended Dec. 20, signaling continued resilience in the labor market of the world’s largest economy.