Wall Street closed higher on a holiday-shortened trading day with the S&P 500 up 0.3%, Dow Jones up 0.6%, and Nasdaq up 0.2%. Trading was light with markets closing early for Christmas Eve and closed on Christmas. Markets reopen Friday with light expected volume for the week.

The S&P 500 is up over 17% this year as investors embrace deregulatory policies and are optimistic about the future of artificial intelligence. Focus is on the U.S. economy and where the Federal Reserve will move interest rates. Investors expect the Fed to hold steady at its January meeting.

The U.S. economy grew by 4.3% in the third quarter, driven by consumer spending amidst ongoing inflation. Reports show shaky consumer confidence and worries about high prices, with a slowing labor market and weakened retail sales. Jobless claims fell to 214,000, below analyst forecasts of 232,000.

Dynavax Technologies surged 38.2% after Sanofi announced a $2.2 billion acquisition of the vaccine maker. Novo Nordisk’s shares rose 1.8% after gaining approval for a pill version of their weight-loss drug, Wegovy. Despite competition, Novo Nordisk shares are down almost 40% this year, while Eli Lilly’s shares are up 40%.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: US stocks drift to more records on a holiday-shortened day of trading