U.S. Stock Closed Mixed Ahead of Trump Conference

U.S. stocks finished mixed, as the dollar weakened against the yen while investors were cautious ahead of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's news conference. The Nasdaq Composite hit an intraday high, extending its rally as healthcare stocks advanced for the sixth consecutive session.

The Dow Jones industrial average edged down 0.2 percent to 19,855.53, the S&P 500 was little changed at 2,268.90 while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.4 percent to 5,551.82. Caution surrounded the financial markets as the elation regarding Trump's anticipated pro-growth policies faded with Congress holding hearings for his proposed cabinet members. Delta Air Lines Inc. is scheduled to begin the S&P 500 earnings season, with analysts predicting profits for firms in the index grew by 3.8 percent the last quarter.

Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors gained, led by advances of 0.69 percent in industrials. However, the 0.66 percent rise of the financials gave the largest boost. Healthcare stocks was 0.44 percent higher while biotechs climbed 0.5 percent. The Russell 2000 rose by one percent to pull up its post-election advances back towards 15 percent. The measure gained as much as 20 percent in the months following Trump's victory.

News are provided by InstaForex