Ticker: Wall Street posts gains to start week; Maersk readies for Red Sea return
Stocks closed higher on Wall Street Tuesday at the start of a holiday-shortened week.
Tech and industrial companies climbed, and energy companies rose along with oil prices. The S&P 500 and the Dow each rose 0.4%, and the Nasdaq climbed 0.5%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury held steady at 3.90%.
Trading was relatively light as U.S. markets reopened following the Christmas Day holiday. Still, the latest gains were widespread, with advancers outnumbering decliners by nearly 3 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Biotech company RayzeBio doubled after agreeing to be acquired by pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb. Wall Street closed its eighth straight winning week with a quiet finish on Friday following reports showing inflation is on the decline even as the economy appears stronger than expected.
Shipping firm Maersk says its going back to Red Sea
Shipping firm Maersk says it is preparing to allow vessels to resume sailing through the Red Sea. It comes at the start of a U.S.-led multinational naval operation to protect shipping from attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Houthi attacks have led to a major disruption of shipping through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, one of the most important arteries for trade in oil, natural gas, grain and consumer goods between Europe and Asia.
Maersk said in a statement it’s preparing to resume Red Sea journeys as soon as possible now that the Operation Prosperity Guardian has started.
On Saturday, a U.S. warship shot down four incoming drones originating from Houthi-controlled areas, and a Norwegian-flagged chemicals and oil tanker reported a near miss of an attack drone, while an India-flagged tanker was hit with no injuries reported., the U.S. Central Command said.