U.S. stock indexes rose Monday as markets reopened after the Christmas holiday and investors assessed the spread of the omicron Covid-19 variant.
The $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ gained nearly 1.4% to close at 4,791.19, marking its 69th record close of the year. The index also hit an intraday record for the first time in more than a month. The $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ added 1%, at 36,302.38. The $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ ticked up about 1.4% to 15,871.26.
Cruise line shares also retreated after Covid outbreaks on ships. $Royal Caribbean (RCL.US)$ slid 1.3%, $Carnival (CCL.US)$ fell nearly 1.2%, and $Norwegian Cruise (NCLH.US)$ Line dipped 2.5%.

Stocks set for steady open; Pound dips on omicron
Stocks looked set for a steady open Monday at the start of a key week for central bank policy decisions amid elevated inflation and questions about the impact of the omicron virus variant on growth.
Futures earlier pointed higher for Australia, Japan and Hong Kong. The $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ closed at a record high Friday on bets the U.S. economy can weather the Federal Reserve's move to reduce stimulus to curb price pressures.
Goldman Sachs says risk of major stocks drawdown modest for now
$Goldman Sachs (GS.US)$ strategists said there's little reason to expect a major retreat in U.S. stocks in the months ahead, even as the breadth of the rally that has pushed the S&P 500 index into successive records is getting increasingly narrow.
"The macro environment does not suggest drawdown risk is elevated in the coming months," the strategists wrote, highlighting that earnings and margins continue to surpass expectations, a low risk of recession, and share prices already reflecting the likely Fed tightening.
Airbnb, Lucid and Zscaler added to Nasdaq 100 tech benchmark
Six stocks, including $Airbnb (ABNB.US)$ and $Lucid Group (LCID.US)$, will be added to the Nasdaq 100 index as part of its annual reconstitution, which adjusts the tech benchmark's membership for changes in market capitalization.
$Fortinet (FTNT.US)$, $Palo Alto Networks (PANW.US)$, $Zscaler (ZS.US)$ and $Datadog (DDOG.US)$ will also be added to the index. All changes are effective as of the close on Dec. 17, the same day as the rebalancing of the S&P 500 Index takes effect.
ETF inflows top $1 trillion for first time
This year's inflows into ETFs world-wide crossed the $1 trillion mark for the first time at the end of November, surpassing last year's total of $735.7 billion, according to Morningstar Inc. data. That wave of money, along with rising markets, pushed global ETF assets to nearly $9.5 trillion, more than double where the industry stood at the end of 2018.
Most of that money has gone into low-cost U.S. funds that track indexes run by Vanguard Group, $Blackrock (BLK.US)$ and $State Street (STT.US)$ , which together control more than three-quarters of all U.S. ETF assets.
Own everything but 'bubble assets' tech and crypto, recommends Institutional Investor hall of famer Rich Bernstein
Institutional Investor hall of famer Rich Bernstein is a market bull whose playbook excludes some of Wall Street's most popular groups. He blames a risky see-saw dynamic playing out in the marketplace.
"On one side, we have all that I would call the bubble assets: tech, innovation, cryptocurrencies," the Richard Bernstein Advisors CEO and CIO told CNBC on Friday. "On the other side of this see-saw, you have literally everything else in the world. I think if you're looking at 2022 into 2023, you want to be in the everything else in the world side of that see-saw."
Amazon Web Services explains outage and will make it easier to track future ones
A major Amazon Web Services outage on Tuesday started after network devices got overloaded, the company said on Friday.
$Amazon (AMZN.US)$ ran into issues updating the public and taking support inquiries, and now will revamp those systems.
Inflation surge pushes U.S. real interest rates into more deeply negative territory
Inflation rose 6.8% from a year ago in November, slightly higher than estimates according to the consumer price index released Friday. Excluding food and energy, the CPI increased 4.9%, in line with expectations.
Surging prices for food, energy and shelter accounted for much of the gains.
Uber, Lyft drivers want more protection as rising crime keeps many off the roads
Ride-sharing companies $Uber Technologies (UBER.US)$ and $Lyft Inc (LYFT.US)$ —which were already caused by Covid-19 concerns—are grappling with a rise in violent crimes and implementing new safety measures and policies to try to better protect the drivers still on their systems. Drivers aren't returning as quickly as consumers, despite big bonuses from companies and the expiration of temporary unemployment benefits extended to gig workers.
Source: Bloomberg, WSJ, CNBC