US stocks add little gains

Walt Disney leads the team of Dow winners

U.S. stocks finished little changed on Monday, 20 December 2013 although the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to eke out its 51st record close of 2013 in the next-to-last trading session of the year. Volume was thin, with investors finding little fuel to push the market either way.

The Dow ended the day near its session high with a gain of 25.88 points, or 0.2%, at 16,504.29. The Nasdaq Composite index shed 2.40 points, or 0.1%, to 4,154.20. The S&P 500 declined 0.33 point, or less than 0.1%, to finish at 1,841.07.

19 of 30 Dow components finish in the green, as shares of Disney stood out with a 2.5% gain. Oil producers Exxon Mobil and Chevron were the biggest decliners.

Today's economic data was limited to November Pending Home Sales, which ticked up 0.2% while the consensus expected an increase of 1.5%. The National Association of Realtors said its index of pending home sales rose 0.2% in November to 101.7, slightly above a 10-month low of 101.5 in October, but down from 103.3 in November 2012. The data had little impact on stocks.

Among major stocks under focus, Twitter endured another rough session after falling 13.0% on Friday. Shares of the social media company slid 5.1%, which narrowed its December gain to 45.6%.

The bond market proved to be a one-way street today as Treasuries rallied throughout the session. The 10-yr yield slipped three basis points to 2.97%.

Trading volume was well below average as only 452 million shares changed hands on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Gold and silver future prices fell on Monday, 30 December 2013 at Comex with both metals looking at their worst yearly losses in at least 30 years.

Gold for February delivery fell $10.20, or 0.8%, to settle at $1,203.80 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. March silver futures fell 35 cents, or 1.7%, to $19.70 an ounce.

Crude oil futures settled below $100 a barrel on Monday, 30 December 2013 at Nymex but remained near a two-month high after data at the end of last week showed a further drop in U.S. crude supplies. February crude oil fell $1.03, or 1%, to settle at $99.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Tomorrow, the October Case-Shiller 20-city Index will be released at 9:00 ET, December Chicago PMI will be reported at 9:45 ET, and the December Consumer Confidence report will cross the wires at 10:00 ET.

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