Stock market today: Stocks edge lower after a holiday pause for US markets

Stocks edged lower on Wall Street Thursday morning after U.S. markets reopened for trading after the Christmas holiday.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.1%. The benchmark index is coming off a three-day winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 23 points, or 0.1%, as of 11:14 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite was down less than 0.1%.

Some Big Tech stocks were among the heaviest weights on the market. Semiconductor giant Nvidia, whose enormous valuation gives it an outsize influence on indexes, slipped 0.5%. Meta Platforms fell 0.8%, while Amazon was 0.7% lower. Netflix gave up 1.6% for the biggest decline among S&P 500 stocks.

Health care stocks were among the bright spots. CVS Health rose 2.7% and Walgreens Boots Alliance rose 2.6%.

Several retailers also gained ground. Target rose 2.3%, Best Buy was up 1.7% and Dollar Tree gained 1.7%.

U.S.-listed shares in Honda and Nissan rose 3.7% and 15.7%, respectively. The Japanese automakers announced earlier this week that the two companies are in talks to combine.

U.S. applications for unemployment benefits held steady last week, though continuing claims rose to the highest level in three years, the Labor Department reported.

Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.61% from 4.59% late Tuesday.

Major European markets were closed, as well as Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia.

Trading was expected to be subdued this week with a thin slate of economic data on the calendar.

Still, U.S. markets have historically gotten a boost at year’s end despite lower trading volumes. The last five trading days of each year, plus the first two in the new year, have brought an average gain of 1.3% since 1950.

So far this month, the U.S. stock market has lost some of its gains since President-elect Donald Trump's win on Election Day, which raised hopes for faster economic growth and more lax regulations that would boost corporate profits. Worries have risen that Trump's preference for tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation, a bigger U.S. government debt and difficulties for global trade.

Even so, the U.S. market remains on pace to deliver strong returns for 2024. The benchmark S&P 500 is up roughly 26% so far this year and remains near its most recent all-time high it set earlier this month — its latest of 57 record highs this year.

Wall Street has several economic reports to look forward to next week, including updates on pending home sales and home prices, a report on U.S. construction spending and snapshots of manufacturing activity.

___

AP Business Writers Elaine Kurtenbach and Matt Ott contributed.