Shares in Netflix, Warner Bros Discovery and AMC Networks were among the top gainers in a so-called “Santa Claus rally” at the end of a rough year for media and tech stocks.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq finished the day up 2.6% to finish at 10,478.09, but it remains on track for its worst year since 2008. Even so, the Santa Claus rally — a nickname for a frequently occurring uptick in the final days of December — is an actual thing. And it can bode well for the new year. According to FactSet, the S&P 500 Index gained an average 1.3% a year over the last five trading days of the year and the first two of the new one every year since 1950. It finished in plus territory for the full year 79% of the time.
Encouraging data on employment trends, plus bargain-hunting among value investors, helped provide additional tailwinds.
Netflix rose 5% to $291.44. The stock got a rare “double upgrade” by Wall Street research firm CFRA, which raised its rating to “buy” from “sell,” bypassing the middle tier on an upbeat assessment of the company’s new ad-supported streaming tier. As for the broader sector, Netflix’s near-term upswing came after a brutal year. Its shares have fallen about 50% in 2022 to date.
Other winners included WBD, up 6% to $9.43; Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, up 8% to $5.52; and AMC Networks, up 7% to $15.48.
Among large-cap issues, Apple, Amazon and Disney also posted gains of between 3% and 4%.
