Stocks failed to deliver a so-called Santa Claus Rally, a trend first identified by Yale Hirsch and the "Stock Trader's Almanac" in 1972 as broad index gains over the final five t

Santa Claus is leaving investors in the lurch once again in 2024 as U.S. stocks have struggled during the typically bullish home stretch of the year.

Traders had hoped a banner year for the S&P 500 would end in a "Santa Claus Rally"—a run-up commonly seen over the last five trading days of a year and the first two of the next. While Thursday and Friday trading could bring a turnaround,

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.

In midday trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 528 points, or 1.2%, to 42,796. The S&P 500 lost 1.7%, and the Nasdaq dropped more than 450 points, or 2.3%. All three indexes are still set for weekly gains, with the benchmark index now about 2.3% below its all-time high of 6,099.97 points clinched on Dec. 6.

Santa might have a lump of coal for Wall Street this year. Stocks typically enjoy a so-called Santa Claus Rally in the period spanning the last five trading days of the year and the first two of the next.

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%.

The odds of a rising stock market are not significantly different whether or not there is a Santa Claus rally. The absence of a “Santa Claus rally” does not doom the U.S. stock market in 2025. That period from Christmas through the second trading day of January marks the traditional definition of the Santa Claus rally.