Connor Smith

The stock market slid on the penultimate trading day of the year, as hopes for a Santa Claus rally continued to fade. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.2%. Bespoke Investment Group co-founder Paul Hickey told Barron’s there didn’t appear to be a specific catalyst for Monday's decline, though investors were likely rebalancing their portfolios as the end of the year approaches.

The stock market was struggling to close out the year on a high note. After all three major indexes opened higher, the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.1% in Tuesday morning trading. The Dow was up just 80 points, or 0.2%.

The stock market may be limping toward the finish line, but the major indexes are still riding strong this year. The Nasdaq Composite is down 0.3% today but up 29.4% this year. It has risen 28.3% since the end of 2022 and is on track for its best two-year gain since 2019 and 2020, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

The stock market stumbled in the final days of the year, but the major indexes still locked in stellar annual gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 28 points, or 0.1%, today. The S&P 500 was down 0.4%.