Stocks did virtually nothing as skeleton crews returned after the Christmas holiday.

All of the major indices managed to scrape into the green, but still finished little changed. The Nasdaq closed at a new all-time high.

And now, for the scoreboard:

    Dow: 19,945.04, +11.23, (0.06%) S&P 500: 2,268.88, +5.09, (0.22%) Nasdaq: 5,487.44, +24.75, (0.45%) US 10-year yield: +2.4 basis points at 2.561%

1. Bitcoin soars. The cryptocurrency rallied 4% to $935, its best level in three years. Bitcoin has gained about 30% since the US election.

2. Consumer confidence jumps to its best level since August 2001. Monthly data released by the Conference Board showed the Consumer Confidence Index hit 113.7 in December, its highest level since July 2007. Increasing expectations for the future were the sole reason for the move.

3. US home prices hit a post-financial crisis high.Home prices gained 5.6% annually in October, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index. The biggest gains were seen in Seattle, Denver, and Portland.

ADDITIONALLY:

The most important driver of the stock market will change in 2017

Bailing out the world's oldest bank is getting more expensive

Vietnam could be 'sowing the seeds of the next crisis

'The market will correctly judge his administration on policy, not 3 a.m. tweets'

The Fed has given Trump cover to unwind a key Wall Street rule