Stock Market Today: Dow Jones Up As Santa Claus Rally Begins; American Airlines Dips After U.S. Flights Grounded

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose and other major indexes gained in the shortened Christmas Eve trading session on Tuesday. American Airlines (AAL) dipped after all its U.S. flights were temporally grounded. And trio of stocks are eyeing buy points while Nvidia (NVDA) and Palantir Technologies (PLTR) displayed some strength on the stock market today.

Stocks moved higher on the first day of the so-called Santa Claus rally period — the last five trading days of December and the first two of the new year. It is a truncated session, with markets closing at 1 p.m. ET.

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The Dow rose more than 175 points, or 0.4%. Artificial intelligence chip giant Nvidia added nearly 1%, while fellow Magnificent Seven member Amazon.com (AMZN) led the index's charge with a 1.7% gain. UnitedHealth (UNH) lagged, losing 0.4%.

The Nasdaq composite fared best out of the major indexes on the stock market today with a 0.9% jump as Big Tech continues to do well. The index looks set to rise for the third session in a row and is back near record high levels as it re-approaches the 20,000 mark. It also has moved clear of all of its short-term moving averages once again and sits more than 4% above of its 50-day moving average.

Top performers on the tech-heavy Nasdaq included Bitcoin play MicroStrategy (MSTR), which popped nearly 6%. Tesla (TSLA) was also strong as it rose more than 4%. Dexcom (DXCM) lagged though, dipping 0.3%.

Stock Market Today: Consumer Discretionary Stocks Strong

The benchmark S&P 500 climbed 0.7%. Palantir Technologies, the top performing stock on the index this year, was at it again as it rose more than 3%. Investment management play Blackstone (BX) also impressed with a gain of more than 2%. Vaccine play Moderna (MRNA) lagged, skidding more than 1%.

The S&P 500 sectors were mixed. Consumer discretionary were and technology were the strongest areas while health care lagged the most.

Small caps reversed higher, with the Russell 2000 up 0.3%. Growth stocks were surging, with the Innovator IBD 50 (FFTY) exchange traded fund up 1.8%.

Stock Market Today: American Airlines Flights Grounded

American Airlines stock edged lower after the carrier's flights were briefly grounded as the busy Christmas Eve travel day got underway. The carrier now says it is resuming flights delayed at the start of one of the busiest travel days of the year.

A technical issue was reportedly the cause for the halt order. Bloomberg cited a possible problem with software used to calculate weight and balance factors in aircraft.

The Federal Aviation Administration said American had requested a ground stop for all its flights.

American Airlines pared most of its losses on the stock market today, and was off 0.2% in recent action. The stock sits near a recent high after previously clearing its 20% profit goal from a 14.66 cup-with-handle entry.

Before First Day Of Christmas: 3 Stocks Eye Entries

The markets are just about to enter what the proverbial song calls the first day of Christmas. Rather than three French hens, though, here is a hat trick of equities eyeing buy points.

Premium clothing play Ralph Lauren (RL) is close to a consolidation entry of 237.16, according to MarketSurge analysis. This is a midstage pattern, which is neutral.

Overall performance is strong here, which is reflected in the stock's IBD Composite Rating of 91 out of 99.

Both earnings and price performance are solid. It boasts an Earnings Per Share Rating of 92 out of 99 and is the top 10% of issues in terms of price performance over the past 12 months.

Adtalem, Fortinet Also Near Buy Points

Higher education stock Adtalem Global Education (ATGE) is nearing a flat base entry of 92.93. It has recaptured the 21-day exponential moving average, an encouraging sign

Earnings performance is key for Adtalem, with its EPS Rating a muscular 97 out of 99. Big Money has also been snapping up the stock lately, netting it an Accumulation/Distribution Rating of A-. In total, 72% of its stock is held by funds, according to MarketSurge data.

The company operates institutions including the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, Chamberlain University, and the Ross University School of Medicine.

Finally, cybersecurity play Fortinet (FTNT) has formed a flat base with an ideal buy point of 100.59. This is an early stage base, which means it has a better chance of netting good gains.

The stock has a best-possible Composite Rating of 99, and a rare perfect EPS Rating of 99. It has rallied by nearly 65% in 2024 so far.

It has an Accumulation/Distribution Rating of B, with the highly rated Fidelity Contrafund among its noteworthy holders.

Please follow Michael Larkin on X at @IBD_MLarkin for more analysis of growth stocks.

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