Dow falls more than 200 points, but on track to post winning holiday week: Live updates


A Christmas tree stands in front of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), on the day U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to ring the opening bell at NYSE to celebrate being named Time magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’, in New York City, New York, U.S., December 12, 2024. 

Adam Gray | Reuters

Stocks declined on Friday, but major averages are still on track to post a positive holiday week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 240 points, falling for the first time in six sessions. The S&P 500 fell 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.8%.

The three major U.S. indexes are still in the green week to date. The S&P 500 is up 1.1% this week after posting its best Christmas Eve performance since 1974 on Tuesday, according to Bespoke. The Dow has gained 0.7% this week, and a run-up in megacap tech stocks has pushed the Nasdaq Composite 1.4% higher.

Although trading has been muted this week, investors hope stocks will surge into the new year, spurred by the so-called “Santa Claus rally.” This refers to the market’s tendency to rise in the final five trading days of the year and the first two in January. Since 1950, the S&P 500 has returned 1.3% on average during this period, outpacing the market’s average seven-day return of 0.3%, according to LPL Financial. 

“The nation is experiencing a collective sigh of relief after navigating through a contentious election cycle and unusual market dynamics to end 2024 with strong year-to-date gains,” said Todd Ahlsten, chief investment officer at Parnassus Investments. “Looking ahead to 2025, the markets are expected to broaden and improve.”

In December, the Nasdaq is on pace for a 4.2% advance, lifted by a jump in Tesla and Alphabet shares, as well as by a rally in Apple that’s brought the iPhone maker closer to a $4 trillion market cap. The S&P 500 is toting a nearly 0.1% gain on the month. The Dow is on pace for its worst month since April, with a roughly 3.5% decline.



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