Sleepy Christmas for Stocks

There was plenty of bad news for the market today, but investors largely shrugged it off and turned their minds toward Christmas dinner. The Dow rose a mere 3.64 points at the open, while the S&P gained 2.32 points. Consumer spending fell 0.6% last month, and initial jobless claims reached yet another 26-year high, but many investors were sitting out today’s abbreviated session. (More stock market stories.)