Today we got some small idea of just what an impact these expiring options have on the market several times each year that produce massive but artificial and quite temporary sell offs.  Rather than the enormous 8 and 12 billion share volumes that we saw Thursday and Friday, today we were back to a much more normal volume of 6.8 billion as traders started repurchasing all these shares and which subsequently shot the Dow back up again 123 points.  Really, when these extraordinary trading days are going on, the reporting really should net out these artificial computer-generated trades to give us a more realistic picture of what's really happening.

Not that everything is rosy.  China continues to bog, as does oil and other commodities.  (Actually the two issues are quite interrelated.)  But the good news is that investors still seem quite optimistic about the potential ramifications of last week's Fed rate hike and the better news is that it was reported Friday that 2.4 million new customers have signed up for health insurance this period, raising the number of the newly insured under the ACA a very substantial 66 percent.  The bad news is that it doesn't look like the traditional Santa Claus rally we usually get every year is going to happen this year.  Then too, we haven't had the problems with China and the commodities markets in prior Decembers that we have this year.  It is expected that stocks will be taking a modest loss this year, 1.8% for the S&P and 3.2% on the Dow.  Still, as today's New York expert stated, last week's rate hike "reaffirms our view that the economy is doing really well."  And as is usually the case with the market, we will very likely see another rally soon and be back in the black in January.

Markets | Mon Dec 21, 2015 4:42pm EST

Obamacare, tech stocks boost Wall Street

BY NOEL RANDEWICH

DJ:  17,251.62  +123.07      NAS: 4,698.92  +45.84        S&P:  2,021.15  +15.60

REUTERS/BRENDAN MCDERMID

U.S. stocks ended stronger on Monday, helped by bounces in Apple and Microsoft as well as a rally in hospital stocks after more Americans signed up for subsidized health insurance.

Shares of Apple Inc (AAPL.O), under pressure in December over concerns that iPhone sales could miss estimates, rose 1.23 percent and boosted major indexes.

About 6 million people have signed up for subsidized health insurance, often called Obamacare, including 2.4 million new customers, the U.S. government said on Friday.

Tenet Healthcare Corp (THC.N) jumped 11.6 percent, its best day since June. Universal Health Services Inc (UHS.N) rose 3.64 percent.

Notwithstanding Monday's broad gains, many on Wall Street have acknowledged that 2015 looks to be a modest loss for stock investors, said Jennifer Ellison, a principal of San Francisco-based Bingham, Osborn & Scarborough.

Although the S&P 500 touched record highs in 2015, the index is down about 1.8 percent for the year as slowing growth in China, a slump in commodities prices and uncertainty over U.S. interest rates buffeted shares. The Dow Jones industrial average is down about 3.2 percent.

"It’s going to be tough to get much of a rally now because it's so quiet and volume is already down," Ellison said. "Nobody’s interested in anything except making some modest tweaks to their portfolios for year-end spit and polish."

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 0.72 percent to end at 17,251.48 points and the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.78 percent to 2,021.16.  The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 0.93 percent to finish at 4,968.92, helped by a 1.29 percent gain in Microsoft (MSFT.O).  All of the 10 S&P sectors ended higher, led by a 1.11 percent rise in telecoms .SPLRCL and a 1.06 percent increase in technology .SPLRCT.

The effects of the first Federal Reserve interest rate hike in almost a decade last week continued to resonate with investors.

"It reaffirms our view that the economy is doing really well," said Philip Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors in New York.

With oil prices under pressure from global oversupply and tepid demand, the S&P energy sector .SPNY ended 0.05 percent firmer after spending much of the day at a loss.

Volume on the U.S. exchanges was 6.8 billion shares, compared to a 7.55 billion average over the last 20 trading days, according to Thomson Reuters data.  Trading volumes were expected to be light for the rest of the week, with stock markets operating a shortened session on Thursday and closing on Friday for Christmas.

Juniper Networks Inc (JNPR.N) dropped 4.99 percent after Reuters reported the U.S. government was investigating whether unauthorized code was inserted in its software, which could be used to spy on customers.

Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) lost 1.05 percent as worries about the outlook for its ESPN sports network outweighed enthusiasm about the record-breaking opening weekend for the latest Star Wars movie.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the New York Stock Exchange 2,013 to 1,041. On the Nasdaq, 1,764 issues rose and 1,095 fell.

The S&P 500 index showed two new 52-week highs and 20 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 40 new highs and 100 new lows.