Airports see record volumes, fewer glitches at Thanksgiving
Stocks eke out small gains; Treasury yields fall
Stocks drifted to a mostly higher close Tuesday following a strong report on consumer confidence and a boost to hopes that the Federal Reserve is finished with its aggressive interest rate hikes.
The S&P 500 edged up 0.1% after hovering between small gains and losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite managed a 0.3% gain.
Gains in technology stocks, retailers and other sectors helped temper declines elsewhere in the market. Microsoft rose 1.1%, Tesla climbed 4.5%, and Best Buy rose 2.4%. GE Healthcare Technologies was among the biggest decliners, closing 4.2% lower.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 4.46 points to 4,554.89. The Dow added 83.51 points to close at 35,416.98, and the Nasdaq gained 40.73 points to 14,281.76. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 8.35 points, or 0.5% to 1,792.81.
Bond yields fell. The 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 4.34% from 4.39% late Monday. The yield on the two-year Treasury fell significantly, to 4.73% from 4.89% late Monday.
A record number of passengers traveled through U.S. airports over Thanksgiving weekend, the Transportation Security Administration said Monday.
The TSA said it screened just over 2.9 million passengers on Sunday, surpassing the previous record of 2.88 million set on June 30. That was 10% more than the Sunday after Thanksgiving last year.
Travel was relatively smooth despite the crowds. On Sunday, just 55 flights within, into or out of the U.S. were canceled, according to FlightAware, a tracking service.
Nearly 8,000 flights were delayed, including several hundred that were affected by snow in Denver and Chicago.
Travelers traverse Miami International Airport the day before Thanksgiving. A record number of passengers traveled through U.S. airports over Thanksgiving weekend. LYNNE SLADKY/AP
The government stepped up operations, hiring more air traffic controllers and opening new air routes along the East Coast ahead of the holiday travel season, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said last week.
Brett Snyder, president of the airline industry blog Cranky Flier, said that between Tuesday and Sunday, no airline
EU regulators leery of Amazon’s acquisition of iRobot
European regulators said Monday that Amazon’s proposed acquisition of robot vacuum maker iRobot may harm competition.
The European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm and top antitrust enforcer, said it has informed Amazon of its “preliminary view” regarding the deal following an investigation that began in July.
The European regulators raised concerns that the buyout may hinder iRobot’s rivals from competing effectively on Amazon’s marketplace.
They said Amazon is an important platform for sales of robot vacuum cleaners in France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
The commission has until Feb. 14 to make a final decision on the deal.