The three indices maintained their recent form of minimum daily movement, losing -.15 percent on next to the last day of 2010 trading. They have now moved in this narrow range for the fourth consecutive day.
The record shows just 12 other identical sessions since January 2000; the last four, plus todays, occurring in December 2010, this month. On the day following, the S&P500 had an even number of declines and advances, while the DJIA and the NASDAQ had seven losses and five gains.
Moreover, on the next day, four of the DJIA changes remained in this same, small range, with the S&P500 having three while the NASDAQ had two.
Tomorrow, Dcember31, of course is the last day of exchange trading for the year. On that final day, each of these indices had declines outnumbering gains in the past 11 years. The NASDAQ showed only two positive closes and fell in the other nine sessions. While the DJIA and the S&P500 have a better score, nevertheless, they posted seven losses and four increases.
DJIA -.14 percent
NASDAQ - .15 percent
S&P500 - .15 percent