US open: Stocks flat going into final session of 2023

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street stocks were little changed at the beginning of the final session of 2023 as traders prepared to wrap up a banner month, quarter, and year for stocks. As of 1520 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were both up 0.01% at 37,713.74 and 4,784.01, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.02% weaker at 15,092.30.

The Dow opened 3.64 points higher on Friday as the blue-chip index looks set to narrowly stretch its Santa Clause rally another session.

Despite the Nasdaq's modest losses in the previous session, all three major indices were on track to deliver their ninth winning week in a row ahead on Friday, driven by a late-year rally and a bounce back from a disappointing third quarter for stocks. Of particular note, the S&P 500 entered the session less than 0.5% from what would be a new record high for the index.

On the macro front, the Chicago purchasing managers' index fell to 46.9 in December, according to the Institute for Supply Management, well below market expectations for a reading of 51. The latest reading seems to show that Chicago's economy returned to contraction this month after having seen growth in November for the first time in 15 months.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Friday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Boeing Co. (BA) $261.73 0.53% Nike Inc. (NKE) $109.36 0.50% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $376.75 0.39% Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $146.17 0.30% Visa Inc. (V) $261.10 0.27% Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $526.11 0.23% Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $189.76 0.23% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $150.10 0.22% Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $108.98 0.19% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $157.85 0.18%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $26.17 -1.62% Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $287.18 -0.44% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $346.26 -0.32% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $264.93 -0.24% 3M Co. (MMM) $109.46 -0.21% Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $55.14 -0.16% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $385.88 -0.14% Apple Inc. (AAPL) $193.40 -0.10% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $295.58 -0.09% Intel Corp. (INTC) $50.35 -0.08%

S&P 500 - Risers

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $0.58 5.02% TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $21.91 2.72% Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $5.78 2.21% Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) $57.33 1.86% Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) $148.96 1.42% Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $150.39 1.10% Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $4.49 1.01% Carnival Corp. (CCL) $18.85 0.98% Bath & Body Works, Inc. (BBWI) $43.55 0.97% Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) $124.13 0.89%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $144.59 -3.24% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $26.17 -1.62% Ventas Inc. (VTR) $50.25 -1.37% CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $1.83 -1.35% Equity Residential (EQR) $61.67 -1.33% Sl Green Realty Corp. (SLG) $46.35 -1.19% Macerich Co (MAC) $15.76 -1.16% Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) $29.05 -1.16% Essex Prty Trust Inc. (ESS) $250.07 -1.06% Carmax Inc. (KMX) $77.07 -0.99%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $92.59 3.68% Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.92 2.79% Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $5.78 2.21% Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $35.93 1.87% JD.com, Inc. (JD) $28.88 1.28% Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $118.91 0.93% O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $948.95 0.82% eBay Inc. (EBAY) $43.78 0.71% Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $599.76 0.71% Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $490.25 0.70%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $26.17 -1.62% American Airlines Group (AAL) $13.85 -0.97% Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $5.48 -0.90% Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $356.13 -0.61% QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $144.98 -0.60% Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $488.03 -0.51% Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $43.90 -0.49% Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $660.09 -0.45% Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $287.18 -0.44% Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $515.17 -0.43%