Stocks steadily high on Wall Street post-Christmas as Omicron spread still causes concern

Stocks made steady gains on Wall Street Monday, enough to mark another record high for the S&P 500 index.

Trading was muted as investors returned from the Christmas holiday and several overseas markets remained closed. The S&P 500 climbed 1.4%, led by more gains in big technology companies like Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia as Wall Street kicked off 2021's final week in a banner year for the stock market. 

Energy companies also did well as prices for crude oil and natural gas rose. European markets mostly rose, but London’s was closed for a holiday. In Asia, Hong Kong’s market was also closed and Japan’s market ended slightly lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged down to 1.48%.

Trading is expected to be quiet, but potentially volatile, this week as the omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread quickly throughout the U.S. and overseas. However, most big investors have closed out their positions for 2021, and are like to hold their ground until next week.

The S&P 500 was up throughout Monday. The benchmark index, which capped a holiday-shortened week Thursday with an all-time high, is on pace to close out the year with a 27.3% gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7% and the technology-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.2%.

The major indexes posted weekly gains last week as fears ebbed about the potential impact of omicron outbreaks. However, much is still uncertain about the variant, which is spreading extremely quickly, leading to a return to pandemic restrictions in some places.

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The price of U.S. crude oil rose 2.7%, continuing its climb higher this month. Energy companies like Devon Energy and Diamondback Energy were among the biggest gainers in the S&P 500.

Hundreds of flights were canceled in the U.S. over the holiday weekend, with airlines reporting COVID-related staffing problems. France reported more than 100,000 new cases in a daily record.

Airline stocks were down on the news, with Delta Air Lines and United Airlines falling roughly 1%.

Shares in cruise line operators also fell. Norwegian Cruise Line slid 2.7% for the biggest drop in the S&P 500. Carnival and Royal Caribbean slipped more than 1%.

Authorities in many countries have doubled down on vaccination efforts as omicron outbreaks complicate efforts to stave off fresh lockdowns while hospitals are still under strain from delta variant infections.

Bond yields were mixed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 1.48% from 1.49% on Thursday.

Asian and European markets were either closed or mostly higher on Monday. London and Hong Kong were closed, while Japan’s stock market closed slightly higher.

In other international developments, the Turkish lira fell another 5% against the dollar. The currency has tumbled sharply this year as the Turkish government has tried to invigorate its economy despite chronically high inflation.

The government announced a plan last week that would encourage Turks to put their money back into lira bank accounts to prop up the currency.