US stocks inch up as indexes close in on big yearly gains

• US stocks were up slightly on Friday as investors look to wrap up a year of big gains.
• For 2023, the S&P 500 is up 24.6%, the Dow is up 13.8%, and the Nasdaq is up 44.2%.
• The S&P 500 remains just below its record closing high of 4,796.56.

US stocks were slightly higher on Friday as investors wrap up a turbulent year that saw a steep decline followed by a sudden, massive rally.

Heading into the final trading day of 2023, the S&P 500 was up 24.6%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 13.8%, and the Nasdaq was up 44.2%, eyeing its best year since 2003.

Those gains came largely in the past few months as Wall Street priced in the prospect of several rate cuts next year from the Federal Reserve.

Despite the optimistic mood and the seasonal Santa Claus rally, the S&P 500 remains stuck just below its January 3, 2022, record close of 4,796.56.

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Friday:

• S&P 500: 4,784.12, up 0.02%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 37,726.35, up 0.03 (+10.97 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 15,103.41, up 0.05%

Here's what else happened today:

• The heir to the L'Oréal beauty empire is the first woman to be worth over $100 billion.
• Charlie Munger built a $300 million stock portfolio at a small newspaper that has warned his death will affect future returns.
• China saw the lowest ever foreign stock purchases in 2023 as funds poured $6.2 billion into the onshore market.
• Nvidia's stock has soared by 240%, helping CEO Jensen Huang's net worth to triple this year to $44 billion.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.5% to $72.13 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, edged up 0.6% to $77.58 a barrel.
• Gold ticked down 0.65% to $2,070 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield rose 3.7 basis points to 3.887%.
• Bitcoin climbed 0.8% to $42,859.