US Stocks Up Modestly as ‘Santa Claus Rally’ Remains on Pause

NEW YORK (Sputnik) - Wall Street’s so-called "Santa Claus rally" appeared to be on pause for a second day in a row as US tech stocks dipped on Wednesday while other blue chips rose just modestly.

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%.