Maybe the Santa Claus rally still has a chance. All three major U.S. stock indexes traded higher in the noon hour Thursday, as did 10 of the market’s 11 sectors. Consumer cyclicals led with a gain of 1.3% and industrials are close behind with a gain of 1.2%. Only the real estate sector was lagging, down 0.5%.

Crude oil moved higher to trade at around $73.60 a barrel, half a buck higher than its level before Thursday’s opening bell. Bitcoin finally broke through the $49,000 level (barely), and the yield on 10-year Treasuries has added nearly four basis points to widen its premium over the two-year note to around 0.80%.

Camber Energy Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN: CEI) had posted a gain of around 13.7%, as of noon trading. According to Fintel data, 500,000 shares were available to short sellers at about 10 a.m., and halfway through the noon hour, that number had dropped to zero. The company had no specific news, so it appears that some Reddit apes are trying to put a big hurt on shorts.

Another double-digit gainer thus far Thursday was electric and hydrogen truck maker Nikola Corp. (NASDAQ: NKLA), which posted its first delivery to a customer Wednesday afternoon along with a promise of more to come.

Our first customer delivery done, and more to come. #NikolaTreDelivery pic.twitter.com/Gp6qMo7UUc

— Nikola Corporation (@nikolamotor) December 22, 2021

Odd as it may seem, Nikola, Caterpillar, Deere and 3M are responsible for pushing the industrials sector higher, with Nikola the biggest gainer by far.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) jumped by another 6% Thursday morning before pulling back a bit. The stock was driving the consumer cyclical sector’s gain for the day, helped along by analysts making revisions to the company’s fourth-quarter delivery total. The consensus has been around 267,000 units, but the morning’s estimates range as high as 290,000 deliveries. Tesla is expected to report fourth-quarter deliveries on January 2.

Bitcoin miner Greenidge Generation Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: GREE) reported Thursday morning that it had completed its acquisition of an industrial site in South Carolina and had begun “small-scale” cryptocurrency mining activity at the site. For retail believers in Greenidge, the deal signals an alternative in the event New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation is successful in its bid to shut down the company’s Dresden electricity generation plant. U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren also wrote to Greenidge CEO Jeffrey Kirt seeking answers to several questions about the power plant’s operations.

As Thursday’s noon hour ended, Camber Energy stock traded up about 13.5%, at $0.89 in a 52-week range of $0.33 to $4.85. The average daily trading volume is around 173 million, and around 30 million had traded thus far on the day.

Shares of Nikola traded up 16.6% to $10.96, in a 52-week range of $8.86 to $30.40. The average daily trading volume is around 11 million shares, and more than 52 million had traded.

Tesla’s stock traded up about 5.3%, at $1062.00 in a 52-week range of $539.49 to $1,243.49. The average daily volume is about 26.6 million shares, and more than 21 million had already traded.

Shares of Greenidge traded up more than 19%, at $20.68 in a 52-week range of $12.70 to $519.04 (split adjusted). The average daily trading volume is around 2.3 million shares, and more than 2.8 million had traded through the noon hour Thursday.

Markets are closed Friday, and we will return on Monday. We wish you all a festive Christmas holiday.

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