The stock market ended a half session Tuesday with little movement, as would be expected of an abbreviated day. While hardly a creature stirred on Wall Street, a handful of natural-resources stocks made some noise.
Small caps outperformed Tuesday’s market modestly, with the Russell 2000 up more than 0.1%. The Nasdaq composite added 0.1% to eke out its 10th consecutive gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost a fraction and the S&P 500 fell 0.1%.
With trading ending three hours early, volume of course was lower than Monday’s levels. The closing bell rang at 1 p.m. ET, and the market will remain closed through Christmas Day. The bond market was set to close at 2 p.m. ET today. Bond trading and other financial markets are closed Wednesday.
Advancing stocks led decliners by a 7-5 ratio across the board. Most S&P sector rose, except for industrials, health care, communications services and energy.
The Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) was nearly flat. InMode (INMD) made the largest move, tumbling 5.6%. The volatile cosmetic surgery equipment maker closed below its 50-day moving average for the first time, a poor signal.
Mining Breakouts Hightlight Stock Market
Despite a sleepy session, a few stocks in the natural-resources field broke out past buy points.
First Majestic Silver (AG) broke out of an undefined pattern with an 11.72 buy point, according to MarketSmith pattern recognition. Volume was more than double the stock’s average. The silver mining company is based in Canada but has operations in Mexico. It is expected to turn a profit this year after two years of losses.
SSR Mining (SSRM) climbed to a new high, one day after it broke out of a cup-with-handle base at 17.35. Also based in Canada, SSR has mines in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Peru and Argentina. EPS is expected to jump 170% this year.
Franco Nevada (FNV), an IBD 50 stock, rose above the 101.30 buy point of another cup with handle. Its relative strength line is lagging the stock to new highs, however.
The price of silver jumped for a second straight day Tuesday. The iShares Silver Trust ETF (SLV) is up more than 7% in the past three weeks, forming a pattern that resembles a double-bottom base. The silver-tracking ETF crossed above its 50-day moving average this week, a good sign.
TC Pipelines (TCP) rose above the 42.21 buy point of a flat base in above-average volume. The master limited partnership has investments in a network of pipelines connected to two major North American supply basins.