The stock market’s Santa Claus rally kicked off with solid gains, but the major indexes will still need more holiday magic to finish the year at record highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up about 15% this year, but at 43,297.03 points is off 3.8% from its Dec. 4 record close of 45,014.04.
The other indexes are a bit closer. The S&P 500 is up nearly 27% this year and is only down 0.8% from its Dec. 6 closing high of 6,090.27. The Nasdaq Composite, up 33% this year, is off only 0.7% from its Dec. 16 record close of 20,173.89.