Stocks End Mildly Higher as Bullish Sentiment Continues

Market Performance - The S&P 500 Index rose by +0.32%, reaching a new record high, while the Dow Jones Industrials Index increased by +0.60%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index rose by +0.27% on Wednesday [1] - March E-mini S&P futures and March E-mini Nasdaq futures also saw increases of +0.27% and +0.20%, respectively [1] Economic Indicators - The US Q3 real GDP grew by +4.3% (quarter-over-quarter annualized), surpassing market expectations of +3.3% [3] - Initial unemployment claims decreased by -10,000 to 214,000, indicating a stronger labor market than the expected 224,000 [4] - However, continuing claims rose by +38,000 to 1.923 million, which was weaker than the anticipated 1.900 million [4] Consumer Confidence - The Conference Board's December US consumer confidence index fell by -3.8 points to 89.1, below market expectations of 91.0 [3] Monetary Policy - The People's Bank of China (PBOC) emphasized long-term stability and indicated it would avoid sudden interest rate cuts despite challenges in the property market and weak domestic demand [5] Seasonal Trends - Historical data shows that the S&P 500 has risen 75% of the time in the last two weeks of December, with an average increase of 1.3% [6] - The market is currently pricing in a 16% chance of a -25 basis point rate cut at the upcoming FOMC meeting on January 27-28 [6] International Markets - Overseas stock markets had mixed results, with the Euro Stoxx 50 down by -0.05%, while China's Shanghai Composite rose by +0.53% for the sixth consecutive day, and Japan's Nikkei Stock 225 decreased by -0.14% [6]