Email| Dow | 12261.42 | -25.62 | (-0.21%) |
| Nasdaq | 2614.19 | +0.45 | (0.02%) |
| SP 500 | 1261.42 | -1.60 | (-0.13%) |
| 10-yr Note | +7/32 | 1.87% | |
| NYSE | Adv 1780 | Dec 1100 | Vol 145 mln |
| Nasdaq | Adv 1260 | Dec 1205 | Vol 320 mln |
| Strong: coal and consumable fuels; oil and gas equipment and services; health care facilities |
| Weak: home furnishing and housewares; home entertainment software; apparel retail; footwear; oil and gas drilling; trading companies and distributors |
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Share volume remains light amid holidays and absence of news flow and data S&P 500 gets support at 2011 starting point Dollar trades modestly lower U.S. markets will be closed on Monday in observance of New Year's Day |
[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks continue to slog along in their final session of 2011. Although action has been lackluster, the S&P 500 is still up fractionally for the year. So even though participation is limited because so many traders are on holiday vacations (U.S. markets will be closed on Monday in observance of New Year's Day), many will still want to know at session's end if the stock market was able to hold steady in positive territory or end the trading year with a whimper and close below the unchanged line.
Although the stock market's performance this year has been underwhelming on an absolute basis, it has been a strong performer on a relative basis. Among Europe's major bourses, Germany's DAX dropped more than 15% this year, France's CAC fell 17%, and Britain's FTSE finished the year nearly 6% below where it began. As for Asia's major averages, Japan's Nikkei descended 17% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng tumbled 20%.
