S&P 500 starts holiday-shortened trading day modestly higher

• Wall Street's main indexes post modest daily gains on Christmas Eve.
• S&P 500 Technology Index is the best-performing major sector after opening bell.

Major equity indexes opened modestly higher on Thursday. However, the trading action is expected to remain subdued before markets close early, at 1300 EST, on Christmas Eve. As of writing, The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.14% on the day at 30,170, the S&P 500 Index was gaining 0.25% at 3,700 and the Nasdaq Composite was rising 0.32% at 12,812.

Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the Technology Index is up 0.7% as the biggest daily gainer ahead of the Communication Services Index, which is advancing 0.45%. On the other hand, the Energy Index is losing 0.9% pressured by falling crude oil prices.

S&P 500 chart (daily)