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Stocks lost momentum in Wednesday afternoon trading, pushing the S&P 500 just below the record close it set on Monday.
With three trading days a year left, the S&P 500 is on pace to close 2021 more than 27%. This will be its best performance since 2019, a new bullish year for the market.
The S&P 500 fell less than 0.1% as of 1:00 p.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% and the Nasdaq fell 0.4%. All three indices started the day with light green.
Retailers and companies dependent on consumer spending were also among the better performers coming out of the Christmas holiday shopping season. Target, Nike, Kroger, Under Armor, and AutoZone were up 1.5 percent or more.
Technology companies also received moderate support, up 6.6%, with the help of storage solutions company Western Digital. Seagate Technology and Micron Technology also increased approximately 2%.
Investors have become more comfortable with the omicron variant of the coronavirus over the past few weeks. The rapidly spreading virus appears to be less severe and causing fewer deaths and hospitalizations than other versions of the virus.
Much is still unclear about the omicron, which has spread so rapidly and has led to a return to pandemic restrictions in some places. The variant is fast becoming the dominant species worldwide.
While virus-related lockdowns and travel restrictions remain a major concern, most major investors have closed their positions for 2021 and will likely hold their positions until next week. Trading has been slow this week, with less than 3 billion shares changing hands on the New York Stock Exchange in the last two days, compared to the 4.5 billion shares traded in an average day.
Bond yields were soaring in the final days of 2021. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bill was 1.54%, up from 1.48% the previous day.
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