The Dow has now risen six straight trading days, marking the longest streak of gains since a seven-session run from March 5 to March 15 this year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance and Nike Inc rose against the backdrop of recent reports suggesting holiday sales were strong for U.S. retailers.

Data on Wednesday showed the U.S. trade deficit in goods mushroomed to the widest ever in November as imports of consumer goods shot to a record, as the coronavirus pandemic has limited spending by Americans on services.

Some early studies pointing to a reduced risk of hospitalization in Omicron cases have eased some investors concerns over the travel disruptions and powered the S&P 500 to record highs this week.

"The market started to recognize that the Omicron variant was in a strange way good news, because it will burn itself out more rapidly because it's easily transmissible, but it's less likely to overwhelm hospitals," said Jay Hatfield, founder and chief executive of Infrastructure Capital Management in New York. Still, he said Omicron arguably is going to be a headwind for at least the next month.

Meanwhile, the S&P 1500 airlines index dipped. Delta Air Lines and Alaska Air Group canceled hundreds of flights again on Tuesday as the daily tally of infections in the United States surged.

Two of the 11 major S&P sector indexes declined, the energy index and the consumer services sector, are in the red.

Typically, the final five trading days of the year and the first two of the subsequent year are seasonally strong for U.S. stocks, known as the "Santa Claus Rally." However, market participants warned against reading too much into daily moves as the holiday season tends to record some of the lowest volume turnovers that can cause exaggerated price action.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 6.59 points, or 0.14%, to end at 4,792.94 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 16.15 points, or 0.10%, to 15,765.57. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 90.95 points, or 0.25%, to 36,491.04.

The S&P 500 dipped on Tuesday in the lowest trading volume session of 2021, snapping a four-day winning streak.

As 2021 draws to a close, the main U.S. stock indexes are on pace for their third straight year of stunning annual returns, boosted by historic fiscal and monetary stimulus. The S&P 500 is looking at its strongest three-year performance since 1999.

The focus next year will shift to the U.S. Federal Reserve's path of interest rate hikes amid a surge in prices caused by supply chain bottlenecks and a strong economic rebound. (Reporting by Echo Wang in Taos, New Mexico; Additional reporting by Medha Singh and Anisha Sircar in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V and Diane Craft)

The security situation in the occupied Palestinian territory is worrying. Since the beginning of this year, operations by security forces in the West Bank have caused massive Palestinian casualties. Violence by the Israeli settlers has intensified. Attacks have occurred frequently, said Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations.

"We urge all parties to remain calm and exercise restraint, refrain from measures that could lead to further escalations, avoid harming civilians, and work together to de-escalate the situation," he told the Security Council.

Israel should earnestly fulfill its obligations under international humanitarian law, ensure safety for the people of the occupied territory and their property, thoroughly investigate attacks by settlers and incidents of violence against civilians and to bring the perpetrators to justice. At the same time, Israel's right to exist and its legitimate security concerns should also be respected, he said.

Two days from now, it will be the fifth anniversary of the adoption of Security Council Resolution 2334. Regrettably, the resolution has yet to be implemented. In contravention of the resolution, settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory have continued to expand. China is deeply concerned over this, said Dai.

Settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory violate international law and continuously jeopardize the prospects of the two-state solution. China once again urges Israel to abide by Resolution 2334, cease all settlement activities and return to the track of the two-state solution, he said.

The per capita gross domestic product in the West Bank and Gaza has been shrinking for years. The Palestinian Authority is faced with a financial crisis. Gaza, after the escalation in May, is in dire need of recovery and reconstruction. The people in the occupied Palestinian territory find themselves in hardships, he said.

The international community should take urgent actions to offer assistance to Palestine through multiple channels, and support the work of the UN agency for Palestine refugees. Israel should facilitate access for humanitarian aid and reconstruction materials, and lift the blockade and siege on Gaza as soon as possible, he said.

The question of Palestine has always been at the heart of the Middle East question. The international community should keep to the right direction of the two-state solution and make greater efforts to advance the Middle East peace process on the basis of relevant UN resolutions, the land-for-peace principle and other international consensuses, he said.

"We must not allow 2022 to become yet another year misspent. We hope that Palestine and Israel will seize the opportunity brought by the recent high-level engagements, continue to build the momentum, gradually rebuild mutual trust, and resume dialogue on equal footing at an early date," said Dai.

China calls for broader international efforts for peace and supports the United Nations, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and countries with significant influence in playing a more positive role. The Security Council should also shoulder its responsibilities, have a greater sense of urgency and work actively toward the just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian question, he said.

"If our Western colleagues continue their clearly aggressive line, we will take adequate retaliatory military-technical measures to respond firmly to hostile actions," Putin said at an expanded meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry Board.

"We have every right to do so, to take actions aimed at ensuring the security and sovereignty of Russia," he said, expressing concerns over the deployment of U.S. missile defense systems near Russian borders, including in Romania and Poland.

He warned if the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) deploy missiles in Ukraine, they would reach Moscow in only seven to 10 minutes, and in just five minutes if they are hypersonic weapons.

"They must understand that we simply have nowhere to retreat," Putin said.

Russia has recently sent a draft agreement to NATO and a draft treaty to the United States both on security guarantees in Europe for the Western countries to consider.

Putin reiterated that Russia stands against armed conflict and bloodshed and wishes to resolve issues through diplomacy, but there must be clear legal guarantees. 

The current conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians must be resolved in accordance with previously adopted resolutions at the United Nations Security Council, Putin said during a meeting with visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Sochi.

The problem must be solved on an equitable basis that takes into account the interests of all people living in the region, Putin stressed.

"We, of course, will work in this direction, no matter how difficult it is," he said.

Diplomats from China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany, in addition to Iran, convened at the Palais Coburg hotel where the 2015 deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was signed.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on Friday that Iran was serious about the upcoming nuclear talks and wants "a good and verifiable agreement."

"If other parties are ready to return to their full obligations and lift sanctions, a good and even immediate agreement can be reached," said Amir Abdollahian in a telephone conversation with EU Foreign Affairs Chief Josep Borrell.

The last round of talks over the restoration of the 2015 deal was held in June.

The US government under Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 agreement in May 2018 and unilaterally re-imposed sanctions on Iran. In response, Iran has gradually stopped implementing parts of its commitments to the deal since May 2019.

Iran's new negotiating team has set out demands for the revival of the nuclear agreement, including the removal of all US sanctions, verification mechanism for the removal of embargo, and guarantees from the United States that the next administrations will not breach the deal. 

The accident occurred on Monday around 11:40 pm local time (2240 GMT) in the town of Morahalom, some 170 km south of Budapest. The vehicle crashed into a flower shop as its driver, who was of Serbian nationality, refused to stop for a police check and tried to leave the scene at high speed, said the police.

The main road in Morahalom has been entirely closed during the on-site inspection and technical rescue, the police noted in a statement.

The driver, who was also injured, was arrested on the spot, and prosecuted for human trafficking and causing a fatal crash, the police added.

Police confirmed to Xinhua later on Tuesday that all of the occupants of the vehicle were male adults.

Government officials said the driver had ignored the calls of the police and tried to flee before losing control of the vehicle. 

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