U.S. stocks closed out a year of double-digit gains and the S&P's best December since 1991 with a quiet and little changed session on Friday as investors found no reason to make big bets ahead of the new year.
Improving economic indicators late in 2010 and stimulative measures from the U.S. Federal Reserve propelled gains in the second half of the year, overcoming headwinds from Europe's sovereign debt crisis and continued high U.S. unemployment.
The gains marked a recovery to the market's levels before the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. For the year the S&P climbed 12.8 percent, the Dow added 11 percent and the Nasdaq surged 16.9 percent.
Friday's session, however, had none of the vibrancy or volatility that characterized the year. Indexes ended mostly flat on light trading volume, though profit taking slightly weighed on the Nasdaq.
"Since the volume is so low, you can't extrapolate any message that's coming from the market, especially since there's no news coming out," said Bernard Baumohl, managing director and chief global economist at the Economic Outlook Group in Princeton, New Jersey.
Dow Jones Industrial Average
(DJI: ^DJI )| Index Value: | 11,577.51 |
|---|---|
| Trade Time: | 4:01PM EST |
| Change: |  7.80 (0.07%) |
| Prev Close: | 11,569.71 |
|---|---|
| Open: | 11,569.33 |
| Day's Range: | 11,530.32 -11,597.41 |
| 52wk Range: | 9,596.04 -11,655.00 |
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