WASHINGTON: U.S. stocks closed fractionally lower on Thursday as investors remained reluctant to make big bets in a thinly-traded session ahead of long holiday weekend. Thursday’s moves follow the biggest one-day percentage drop for the S&P 500 since Oct 11.
The S&P 500 SPX, -0.03% closed down less than a point at 2,249.37. Six of the 11 main sectors finished in positive territory, led by utilities and real estate sectors, but the gains were outweighed by losses in financials and energy shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.07% closed off 11 points, or less than 0.1%, at 19,821.49. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS, -1.03% and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co JPM, -0.71% were among the biggest losers on the Dow, finishing 1% and 0.7% lower, respectively. The Nasdaq Composite COMP, -0.12% declined 6.47 points, or 0.1%, at 5,432.
All three main indexes are on track to post solid monthly gains and double-digit annual returns with one trading session to go in 2016.
“Markets have already booked solid gains this year, with the S&P 500 up 10%. But extremely low volumes indicate there aren’t many participants to take his market much higher or lower until after the holidays,” said Michael Antonelli, equity sales trader at Robert W. Baird & Co.
Thursday’s volumes were roughly half of the 30-day average volume, according to FactSet. Ahead of the opening bell, stock-index futures were virtually unchanged after mixed economic data. Weekly jobless claims tumbled to extremely low levels that have been the norm since the summer. Meanwhile, the trade deficit widened by more than expected.
