U.S. stock index futures were little changed during overnight trading Wednesday after the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at new records.

Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched higher, while S&P 500 futures were unchanged. Futures for Nasdaq 100 were slightly lower.

During regular trading on Wednesday the S&P 500 advanced 0.14% to its 70th record close of the year. This record is second only to 1995’s record-setting 77 closes.

The Dow gained 90 points (or 0.25%) to close at an all-time record, the first since November. It was its sixth consecutive session of positive trading for 30-stocks. But, the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.1%. The chip stocks were under severe pressure with AMD, Xilinx, and Nvidia all falling at least 1%.

Covid-19-related concerns continued to affect travel stocks. The NYSE Arca Airline Index fell 2.5%.

On the flip side, a number of consumer stocks rose to new all-time highs during the session, including Domino’s Pizza, McDonald’s, Yum Brands, Costco and Procter & Gamble.

The December green is for all the major averages. The S&P and Dow are on pace for a second positive month in the last three, while the Nasdaq Composite is on track for a third straight month of gains.

Wednesday’s upward action for the Dow and S&P continued a historically strong period for stocks, which has been dubbed the “Santa Claus rally.” The S&P 500 has notched a gain during the period — the last five trading days of the year followed by the first two session in January — 78.5% of the time since 1928, according to Bank of America.

Scott Wren (senior global market strategist, Wells Fargo Investment Institute), stated that Santa has been a good investor this holiday season and that we expect another year of positive returns for 2022.

The major averages have just two more trading days in 2021 so they are on the right track to finish the year in green. The S&P and Dow are up 27.6% and 19.2%, respectively. The Nasdaq gained 22.3% while Russell 2000 has increased 13.9%.

Anu Gaggar of Commonwealth Financial Network said, “2021 was an amazing year for the equity market.” Markets have enjoyed the greatest of all worlds thanks to the Fed’s easy monetary policy and federal stimulus that keeps the economy afloat, as well as the Fed’s continued medical improvements leading to unexpected growth.

Gaggar stated that 2022 will be a year of earnings and stock market valuations.

The trend of higher Treasury yields could be a problem for 2022, particularly in growth-oriented markets. On Wednesday, U.S. 10-year Treasury yields surpassed 1.5%.

LPL Financial fixed income strategist Lawrence Gillum stated that interest rates will likely move slightly higher in 2022, based on near term inflation expectations exceeding historical trends and improved growth expectations after the COVID-19 effects recede. “Our year-end 2022 forecast for the 10-year Treasury yield is 1.75–2.00%.”