DJI: Dow Jones Ticks Up in Yawning Session as Holiday Cheer Fades on Wall Street

Maybe it’s exhaustion, maybe it’s taking a break to prepare for the new year — investors were off the charts with the major indexes mostly slipping.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJI moved up by a mere 29 points, or 0.07%, on Thursday as sleepy trading swept nearly all corners of the stock market. And while the Dow managed to squeeze in its fifth day of gains, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite weren’t so fortunate. The broad-based index and its tech-heavy peer each dived under the flatline by about 0.05%. One stock, however, was pushing higher.
• Apple stock AAPL advanced 0.3% for the session while its big tech peers were nursing losses. The iPhone maker is up about 8% so far in December and is getting ready to plow through the mind-blowing milestone of $4 trillion in market value. Shares closed Thursday trading at a record high of $259.02 as Wedbush analysts said they’re even more bullish with a new price target of $325 a pop.
• Broadly, however, thinner volumes were keeping a lid on price moves and it showed also in the crypto corner of the market. Bitcoin prices BTCUSD edged lower and settled under $96,000 early Friday. The orange cryptocurrency is down about 12% from its ultimate all-time absolute best of $108,000 hit earlier this month. With this, no major news is on deck for Friday, giving investors some time to breathe and plan their next move.