Wall Street flat in shortened Christmas eve trading, Intel drops 2%, Nike jumps 4.7%

The stock indices on Wall Street were mostly flat in shortened Christmas eve trading on Wednesday.

The trading volumes are expected to stay thin, with the US stock markets set to close at 1 PM ET (1800 GMT) on Wednesday and remain shut on Thursday for Christmas holiday.

As of 11:15 AM Eastern, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4%, the S&P 500 index added less than 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.1%.

At 09:40 AM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 39.02 points, or 0.08%, to 48,481.43, the S&P 500 gained 0.12 points, or 0.01%, to 6,909.91 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 28.64 points, or 0.12%, to 23,533.20.

Among the S&P sectoral indices, six of the 11 were trading higher, with healthcare leading the way, while energy lagged.

On the economic front, official data on Wednesday showed new claims for US unemployment benefits fell last week.

US applications for jobless claims for the week ended December 20 fell by 10,000 to 214,000 from the previous week’s 224,000, the Labor Department reported on Wednesday.

According to Tuesday's government data, the US economy grew at its fastest pace in two years in the third quarter.

However, consumer confidence declined in December and a flat factory production data for November tempered the economic outlook.

Key Stock Movers

Nike stock jumped 4.7% after Apple CEO Tim Cook, the sportswear giant's lead independent director, acquired about $3 million shares.

Intel shares dropped 2% after a report said that Nvidia has halted tests to manufacture Intel's 18A chipmaking node after initial tests.

Dynavax Technologies stock soared 38.5% after French drugmaker Sanofi said it would acquire the vaccines company for around $2.2 billion (1.9 billion euros).

Novo Nordisk shares rose 2% after the weight-loss drug company got approval from US regulators for a pill version of its blockbuster drug Wegovy.

Oil Market

Crude oil prices continued to gain for a sixth day on Wednesday, buoyed by stronger than expected US economic growth and the risk of supply disruptions from Venezuela and Russia.

At 1425 GMT, Brent crude futures were up 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $62.51 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 22 cents, or 0.4%, at $58.60.

Both contracts have gained about 6% since December 16, when they plunged to near five-year lows.

Disruptions to Venezuelan exports have been the primary factor pushing up oil prices, while Russia's and Ukraine's continued attacks on each other's energy infrastructure also supported the crude market.

Bullion Market

Gold prices slipped on Wednesday, after surging past the key $4,500 an ounce mark earlier in the session.

At 10:04 A.M. ET (1504 GMT), spot gold was down 0.4% at $4,468.96 per ounce, after rising to a record high of $4,525.18 earlier in the session. US gold futures for February delivery also fell 0.2% to $4,497.90.

Among other metals, silver and platinum trimmed some gains following their record-breaking rally.

Silver hit an all-time high of $72.70 but was last down 0.8% at $70.86 an ounce.

Platinum rose to $2,377.50 before paring gains to stand 3.3% lower at $2,198.30.

Palladium tumbled 9% at $1,692.43 an ounce.