U.S. stocks on Thursday struggled for momentum, as Wall Street's attempt to continue a Santa Claus rally came under pressure after the best Christmas Eve session since 1974. In a topsy-turvy session that has largely been negative,

Yes. The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq will both operate on half-day schedules, closing at 1 p.m., while bond markets will shut down at 2 p.m., and major U.S. financial markets will stay closed until Thursday’s normal trading session.

The Santa Claus rally refers to a seasonal tendency for the S&P 500 to rise over the last five days trading days of a calendar year and the first two of the new year. U.S. stocks pared early losses on Thursday, with the Dow wavering in and out of positive territory in recent trade.

Wall Street is eager for a so-called Santa Claus rally to propel the S&P 500—up about 25% this year through Monday's close—to new highs. According to Wall Street lore, the stock market consistently rises during the final five trading days of the year and the first two sessions of the next. This year, that stretch starts today.

While overall trading volumes were light on Monday, stocks did gain a little ground as we head into the final trading days of the year.

Stocks have seen a stellar 2024, but the S&P 500 is in danger of a rare December loss. It’s all riding on the so-called Santa Claus rally.

Dec. 31 window, known as Santa Claus rally, averaging 0.85% return in 64 out of 96 years. 2018 saw strongest rally of 6.6%.

Some of the biggest winners were mega-cap tech stocks, with Tesla up by 6% while Broadcom, Netflix, and Amazon each gained about 2%.

By Stephen Culp NEW YORK (Reuters) -Wall Street stocks headed lower on Thursday and U.S. benchmark Treasury yields scaled the highest level since April in light, post-Christmas trading. The modest but broad-based sell-off pulled all three major U.