Major US stock indices finished at fresh records on Wednesday following a shortened pre-holiday session, while gold and silver prices also struck fresh highs.

Both the Dow and S&P 500 closed at all-time highs, drifting higher consistent with typical holiday season patterns.

"It's a continuation of a market that's trading at a record high, and I think there's a little bit of a seasonality bias that's kicking in here without any upsetting news to alter the trend at the moment," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

"You have a bullish bias in this market, which is being helped along by the idea that 2026 has the potential to be another good year."

Gold climbed above US$4,500 for the first time and silver topped US$72, as investors looked for safe havens amid US military and economic pressure on Venezuela.

Geopolitical worries have grown as Washington continues to put pressure on Caracas with a blockade of sanctioned oil vessels sailing to and from Venezuela.

Market watchers are hoping for a "Santa Claus" rally in the sleepy period that comprises the last five trading sessions of one year and the first two in the next.

The stretch between Christmas and New Year's Day usually sees markets drift higher amid a dearth of major economic news.

"What's happening right now is we have a very strong set-up and then we just need a bullish catalyst and it'll take off and go," said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments.

The S&P 500's fresh all-time high on Tuesday came after figures showed the world's top economy expanded 4.3 percent in the third quarter, the fastest pace in two years and much quicker than expected.

The report provided some reassurance to investors about the economic outlook after a string of increasingly weakening jobs data.

However, other figures were less upbeat, with a gauge of consumer spending falling for a fifth successive month to its lowest level since February 2021 owing to worries about jobs.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent, to 6,932, while the Dow rose 0.6 percent, to 48,731, and the Nasdaq rose 0.2 percent, to 23,613. (AFP)