Until Monday, the three main equity indexes on the New York Stock Exchange had risen with noticeable vigor for four days in a row, prompting many to think of the Santa Claus rally that typically starts at around Christmas and lasts through the year-end.
Tuesday’s action, however, brought that trend to a halt, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes seeing mild drops and the Dow Jones Industrial Average registering just a slight rise.
The latest session on Wednesday reinforced the market’s dull turn.
Nasdaq, which groups major technology names such as Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google, fell 0.1% to finish at 15,766, extending Tuesday’s 0.6% decline. Year-to-date, however, the Nasdaq is up 22%.
The S&P 500, which lists the top 500 US stocks, closed the day up 0.1% at 4,793, recouping all of the previous day’s dip without exceeding the all-time high of 4,807 set on Tuesday. For the year, the S&P 500 remains up 27%.
The blue-chip Dow, which lists a wide variety of stocks from leisure to banking and agriculture, rose another 0.3% like on Tuesday to settle at 36,489. For the year, the Dow is up 19%.