Wall Street closed higher and held near all-time highs Tuesday amid hopes that moves by Japan's central bank to keep interest rates easy for investors could be a preview for the rest of the world.
- The S&P 500 rose 27.81 points, or 0.6%, to 4,768.37 %, just shy of its record.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 251.90 points, or 0.7%, to an all-time high of 37,557.92.
- The Nasdaq composite rose 98.03 points, or 0.7%, to 15,003.22.
Japan's Nikkei 225 was one of the world's biggest winners. It jumped 1.4% after Japan's central bank decided to keep its benchmark rate below zero in hopes of encouraging more borrowing and spending, the
AP reports. Hopes are building that the Fed may cut its own interest rates several times next year.
Enphase Energy jumped 9.1% after the maker of microinverters for the solar energy industry told employees it will cut 10% of its global workforce and make other streamlining changes. Stocks of oil-and-gas companies also helped push the market higher after crude prices rose roughly 1.7% to recover some of their sharp drops from recent months. A report on Tuesday morning showed the housing industry appears to be in stronger shape than expected. Homebuilders broke ground on many more new homes in November than expected, 200,000 more at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate.
Shares of Tylenol maker Kenvue rose 2.2% following a favorable ruling for it in federal court. The company wanted to exclude the opinions of experts in a multijurisdictional case against it on whether in-utero exposure to acetaminophen, the pain reliever used in Tylenol and other generic drugs, could lead to autism or attention deficit disorder. Judge Denise Cote of US District Court for the Southern District of New York agreed with Kenvue, ruling Monday that the testimony was inadmissible. Alphabet added 0.6% after its Google business settled allegations that it stifled competition against its Android app store, agreeing to $700 million and making several concessions.
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