Wall Street closes year on dreary note
Wall Street ended its third straight losing year on a mixed note as investors' hopes of a resurgent economy were stifled by fears of terrorism, war and several accounting scandals.
The Dow rose 8.78, or 0.1%, to close at 8,341.63.
The broader market finished mixed. The Nasdaq composite index fell 4.02, or 0.3%, to 1,333.52. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.43, or 0.1%, to 879.82.
Both the Dow and S&P suffered their first three-year declines since 1939-1941. The Nasdaq posted its first three-year loss since the exchange's inception in 1971.
A disappointing report on consumer confidence today further dampened the buying enthusiasm typically seen at year's end.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index dropped to 80.3% from a revised 84.9% in November, offering a disappointing outlook for consumer spending. Analysts expected a December reading of 88.0%.
Wall Street historically has seen strong gains during the last two weeks of December on hopes of better prospects for the new year.
Indeed, the Nasdaq finished its worst December ever, with a 9.7% drop, while the Dow and S&P 500 had their poorest December since 1931, with declines of 6.2% and 6%, respectively. For 2002, the Nasdaq dropped about 31.5% and the S&P declined 23.4%.
The Russell 2000 index, a barometer of smaller company stocks, rose 0.87, or 0.2%, to 383.10.
