S&P 500 rises to all-time highs above 4760s as year-end looms

The S&P 500 surges as Wall Street opens, up some 0.75%, sitting at 4,766.02 at the time of writing. The market sentiment has improved, despite worries about the Omicron variant triggering the cancellation of 3,000 plus flights on Christmas weekend due to quarantine measures and shortage of staff.

That said, the other two largest stock indices of Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial and the heavy-tech Nasdaq, are rising between 0.39% and 1.16%, currently at 36,089.50 and 16,496.92, respectively.

The largest stocks hit were airliners and cruisers, led by Delta Air Lines and United Airlines dipped 2.1% each, while American Airlines fell 2.4%. In the cruise line sector, Carnival fell 3.1%, followed by Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line, each dropping 2.8% and 4%.

Sector-wise, the most significant gainers are technology, communication services, and consumer discretionary, gaining 1.42%, 1%, and 0.96%, each. 

S&P 500 Price Forecast: Technical outlook

The S&P 500 has an upward bias from a technical perspective, as shown by the daily moving averages (DMAs) residing well below the index value, with the 50 and the 100-DMA acting as dynamic support levels.

Through the year, the 50-DMA was broken “strongly” around the middle of October, though bulls regained control and pushed the price higher. The 100-DMA was broken through the abovementioned date also, since then has been solid support in which equity bulls lean-to open fresh buying orders, pushing the index towards all-time highs. 

To the upside, the first resistance would be 4,800. A breach of the latter would expose 4,900 and 5,000. 
On the other hand, the first support would be the December 18 daily high at 4,749.73. A break below that level would expose the 50-DMA at 4,642.40, followed by the December 20 swing high at 4,527.82.