By Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks nudged higher on Monday,
sending the S&P 500 to a record close, as investors were
largely unfazed by a trio of Federal Reserve officials suggesting a
stimulus reduction could come next week.
The S&P 500 index (SPX) rose 3.28 points, or 0.2%, to
1,808.37, topping its prior record close achieved on Nov. 27.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) gained 5.33 points, or
less than 0.1%, to close at 16,025.53, while the Nasdaq
Composite(RIXF) advanced 6.23 points, or 0.2%, to 4,068.75.
St. Louis Fed President James Bullard floated the idea of a
small reduction next week for the Fed's bond-buying program, which
has boosted stocks.
Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said a December taper was
on the table. Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher backed a
reduction at the "earliest opportunity," and Fisher also was slated
to speak again at 6 p.m. Eastern time on CNBC.
Many strategists have said the market is increasingly
comfortable with a tapering in bond buys. Seth Masters, chief
investment officer for Bernstein Global Wealth Management, said
long-term investors should focus on fundamentals rather than the
latest Fed speeches.
"The impact of the tapering has been much exaggerated," he
said.
Monday served as a last-chance saloon for the Fed to send a
coordinated message about a stimulus reduction. Fed officials will
stop speaking publicly on Tuesday until after their Dec. 17-18
policy-setting meeting. Check out a recap of MarketWatch's live
blog of Monday's stock-market action.
* Today's market-moving news: "A small taper might recognize
labor market improvement, while still providing the [Fed] the
opportunity to carefully monitor inflation during the first half of
2014," Bullard said in his speech on Monday. He also said the
probability of a taper had risen in light of the strengthening of
job growth in recent months. On Friday, stocks rallied sharply on a
stronger-than-expected November jobs report.
* Today's movers & shakers: McDonald's Corp. lost 1.1%,
faring worst among Dow components. The fast-food giant reported
mixed November same-store sales, with U.S. sales down 0.8%. Sysco
Corp. jumped 9.6%, performing best among S&P 500 stocks after
it agreed to acquire fellow food-services distributor US Foods.
Read more in the Movers & Shakers column.
* Other markets:Asian stocks closed up after encouraging Chinese
trade data, while European equities finished broadly higher. Gold
gained, while oil prices edged down.
* What strategists are saying: The Fed may no longer be the
factor that it once was, suggests Todd Salamone, senior vice
president of research at Schaeffer's Investment Research. A
"takeaway from Friday's rally is that a Fed tapering is now
factored into the marketplace," he wrote in a note.
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