Strike and Holiday Slow Trading
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Santa Claus rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange Friday, but the Santa Claus rally went nowhere.
Between the subway strike, which gave Wall Streeters an excuse to start the holiday break a few days early, and the holiday vacations that were already planned, nothing much got done.
Traders seemed more interested in making up for lost Christmas shopping than in compensating for lost trading opportunities, despite the resumption of transit service on Friday.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended the week up eight points at 10,883.27. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index climbed a little more than a point to 1268.66. The Nasdaq Stock Market composite index slipped three points to 2249.42.
This week's trading could be more significant as investors reshuffle their holdings. Typically they cash in winners to protect profits, dump losers to lock in tax losses and buy what they hope will be next year's hits. That could produce a four-day flurry, but sometimes the buying and selling simply cancel each other out. The market is closed tomorrow.
-- Jerry Knight
