US Stocks Rise at Start of Holiday Week12/22 15:48

   Stocks rose on Wall Street Monday to open what's expected to be a relatively 
calm holiday week.

   NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks rose on Wall Street Monday to open what's expected 
to be a relatively calm holiday week.

   The gains were broad. Technology companies and banks did much of the heavy 
lifting. Industrial companies also gave a strong push to major indexes.

   The S&P 500 rose 43.99 points, or 0.6%, to 6,878.49. The Dow Jones 
Industrial Average rose 227.79 points, or 0.5%, to 48,362.68. The Nasdaq 
composite rose 121.21 points, or 0.5%, to 23,428.83.

   Smaller company stocks did particularly well. The Russell 2000 index 
outpaced other major indexes with a 1.2% gain.

   The gains also helped major indexes push further into winning territory for 
the month as a choppy December nears its end. Technology companies, especially 
those focused on artificial intelligence, have been the main force behind the 
market's oscillations. The direction of AI-related stocks will likely determine 
whether the market closes out December with gains or losses.

   "If a Santa Claus rally does kick in this year, St. Nick's gift bag will 
likely need to be full of positive tech sentiment," wrote Chris Larkin, 
managing director of trading and investing at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley.

   Nvidia, which has had a big role in driving the broader tech sector higher 
this year, rose 1.5%. JPMorgan was among the bigger winners in the banking 
sector with a 1.9% gain.

   Uber rose 2.5% and Lyft rose 2.7% after announcing plans to bring robotaxi 
services to London next year.

   Paramount Skydance rose 4.3%. The company sweetened its hostile takeover bid 
for Warner Bros. Discovery with an "irrevocable personal guarantee" from Larry 
Ellison, the founder of Oracle and father of Paramount CEO David Ellison. He is 
putting up billions of dollars to back the deal as part of the latest move in 
Paramount's bidding war against Netflix.

   Warner Bros. Discovery rose 3.5% and Netflix fell 1.2%.

   Dominion Energy fell 3.7% after the Trump administration said it is pausing 
leases for five large-scale offshore wind projects. They include Dominion's 
Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project.

   Gold and silver touched records and oil prices jumped after the U.S. Coast 
Guard said it was pursuing another sanctioned oil tanker in the Caribbean.

   Gold prices rose 1.9% to settle at $4,469.40, adding to its consistent gains 
throughout the year. Silver rose 1.6%.

   Crude oil prices in the U.S. rose 2.4% to $58.01 a barrel. Prices for Brent 
crude oil, the international standard, rose 2.6% to $62.07 a barrel.

   Treasury yields edged higher in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year 
Treasury rose to 4.16% from 4.15% late Friday.

   Asian markets rose, and European markets slipped.

   Markets in the U.S. will close early on Wednesday for Christmas Eve and 
remain closed on Thursday for Christmas. The short week for trading includes 
several economic reports that could shed more light on the condition and 
direction of the U.S. economy.

   On Tuesday, the government releases the first of three estimates on gross 
domestic product, a reflection of how the broader U.S. economy fared in the 
third quarter. On Wednesday, the Labor Department will release its weekly data 
on applications for jobless benefits, which stands as a proxy for U.S. layoffs.

   The Conference Board offers up results from its December consumer confidence 
survey on Tuesday as well.

   The upcoming reports follow a mix of updates last week that show inflation 
remains elevated and consumer confidence has diminished over the last year. 
Overall, the job market has been slowing and retail sales have weakened.

   The ongoing and wide-ranging U.S. trade war has been hanging over consumers 
and businesses already squeezed and worried by higher prices. The mix of 
stubbornly high inflation and a weaker jobs market has also put the Federal 
Reserve in a more difficult policy position moving forward.

   The Fed has cut its benchmark interest rate at its last three meetings, 
despite inflation that has remained stubbornly above its 2% target. Fed 
officials have grown increasingly concerned about the slowing job market, 
pushing them to trim rates. Cutting interest rates to bolster the economy 
because of a weak job market could fuel inflation, however.

   Wall Street is mostly betting that the Fed will hold steady on interest 
rates at its meeting in January.