Dow Ends Lower as Stocks Stagger Into Year-End
The stock market slid on the penultimate trading day of the year, as hopes for a Santa Claus rally continued to fade.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 418 points, or 1%. The S&P 500 was down 1.1%. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.2%.
Though stocks have historically done well in the final five days of the year and the first two of the new year—a window known as the Santa Claus rally—the major indexes have been slipping since their close on Dec. 23.