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Dow pulls back more than 150 points after reaching 30,000 milestone

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell on Wednesday, taking a breather after reaching a significant milestone, while traders pored over disappointing unemployment data.

The 30-stock Dow slid about 173.77 points, or 0.6%, to 29,872.47. The S&P 500 dipped 0.2%, or 5.76 points, to 3,629.65 after reaching an all-time closing high in the previous session. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed, rising 0.5%, or 57.62 points, to 12,094.40.

Trading volumes were lighter than usual ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) traded more than 33 million shares, less than half its 30-day average volume of 79.3 million.

The Labor Department said that 778,000 people filed for unemployment benefits for the first time last week. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected initial jobless claims to come in at 733,000.

Dow 30,000

The Dow broke above 30,000 for the first time on Tuesday, rallying more than 400 points. The Dow is on pace for its biggest monthly gain since 1987, up more than 12%.

Small caps were also coming off a record high, with the Russell 2000 surging nearly 2% on Tuesday. For the month, the Russell is up around 20%, which would be its best-ever monthly performance. On Wednesday, however, the small-cap benchmark dipped 0.5%.

The market’s rally to record highs comes amid positive vaccine news coupled with increasing political clarity.

Credit Suisse expects U.S. equities to continue grinding higher into 2021

Expectations surrounding the availability of a potential coronavirus vaccine, new fiscal stimulus and a new U.S. administration are all “positive” factors for U.S. equities in 2021, says Ray Farris of Credit Suisse.

After market’s November surge, there may be less of a chance for a big ‘Santa rally’

November’s strong rally may have stolen some of the thunder from a year-end rally.

Promising vaccine news spurred a major rotation in November into cyclical stocks, like industrials and financials - the stocks that will do well in an economic recovery.

The S&P 500 is up more than 11% for the month so far.

Reference: CNBC