Stocks Ended Modestly Higher on Christmas Eve Trade

U.S. stocks ended modestly higher on Thursday, the final trading day of the Christmas week, as investors looked beyond new hurdles to key stimulus and spending bills in Washington. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 70.04 points, or 0.23%, to 30,199.87, leaving it up 0.1% for the week. The S&P 500 edged up 13.05 points, or 0.35%, to 3,703.06, but finished down 0.2% for the week. The Nasdaq Composite gained 33.62 points, or 0.26%, to 12,804.73, contributing to an 0.4% weekly rise.

Crude-oil futures settled slightly higher Thursday amid light-trading volumes in the last trading session before Christmas, with investors watching whether a U.S. fiscal package will be signed into law by President Trump. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery closed 11 cents, or 0.2%, higher at $48.23 a barrel. February Brent crude finished up 9 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $51.29 a barrel. For the week, WTI lost 2.1%, while Brent recorded a weekly decline of 1.9%.