Stocks end lower Friday, with S&P 500 still booking 26.9% annual gain for 2021
Stocks ended modestly lower on New Year's Eve, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing its grip on slight gains late in the year's final session. The blue-chip index shed about 60 points Friday, or 0.2%, to end near 36,338, still enough to solidify a 1.1% weekly gain, 5.4% advance for December and a quarterly climb of 7.4%. For the year, the Dow rose a robust 18.7%. That compares with the S&P 500 index gaining 26.9% on the year, after also ended Friday's session lower by about 0.3%. The Nasdaq Composite Index booked a 21.4% gain for 2021, while closing down 0.6% Friday.
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