How major US stock indexes fared Tuesday, 12/19/2023

Wall Street closed higher and held near all-time highs 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 0.6% Tuesday, just shy of its record. The Dow rose 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.7%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was one of the world’s biggest winners after its central bank decided to keep its benchmark rate below zero in hopes of encouraging more borrowing and spending.

Hopes are building that the Fed may cut its own interest rates several times next year.

On Tuesday:

The S&P 500 rose 27.81 points, or 0.6%, to 4,768.37

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 251.90 points, or 0.7%, to 37,557.92.

The Nasdaq composite rose 98.03 points, or 0.7%, to 15,003.22.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 38.54 points, or 1.9%, to 2,020.95.

For the week:

The S&P 500 is up 49.18 points, or 1%.

The Dow is up 252.76 points, or 0.7%.

The Nasdaq is up 189.30 points, or 1.3%.

The Russell 2000 is up 35.83 points, or 1.8%.

For the year:

The S&P 500 is up 928.87 points, or 24.2%.

The Dow is up 4,410.67 points, or 13.3%.

The Nasdaq is up 4,536.74 points, or 43.3%.

The Russell 2000 is up 259.71 points, or 14.7%.