S&P 500 reaches a record high as ‘Santa Claus rally’ kicks off

The S&P 500 hit a record high on Wednesday, with broad gains across sectors supporting the main indexes during a shortened Christmas Eve session.

The benchmark S&P 500 touched an intraday record high of 6,921.42 points, surpassing its previous peak in October, as investors continued to bet on more interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve next year following mixed economic data.

The U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in two years in the third quarter, government data showed on Tuesday...