On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to squeeze out a modest gain, inching up by about 15.37 points, or less than 0.1%, wrapping up the day at 42,342.24. This came as Wall Street’s attempt to recuperate from the Federal Reserve-triggered sell-off the day before started to fizzle out close to the market close.
On the brighter side, this slight upward movement broke a streak of 10 consecutive losses for the Dow—a string of declines the likes of which hadn’t been seen since 1974. The previous day had seen the Dow plunge over 1,100 points, with the S&P 500 dropping around 3%, following news that the Federal Reserve might cut rates less aggressively in 2025 than investors had anticipated.
Early Thursday, stocks had opened strong with promising gains, but they peaked early. The S&P 500 couldn’t maintain its footing in positive territory, eventually closing down by 5.08 points, or 0.1%, at 5,867.08, marking its third straight loss.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite saw a loss of 19.92 points, or 0.1%, ending the day at 19,372.77.
December’s downturn has seen the Dow decrease by 5.7% this month and fall 5.9% short of its highest close recorded on December 4. For the S&P 500, it has dropped 2.7% this month and is down 3.7% from its last record close on December 6. On the flip side, the Nasdaq is still up by 0.8% for the month.
Despite the recent fluctuations, for the year so far, the S&P 500 remains up 23%, with the Dow increasing by 12.3% and the Nasdaq enjoying a 29.1% gain.
