Wall Street closes down, indexes still poised for big annual gains

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 90.55 points, or 0.25%, to 36,398.08, the S&P 500 lost 14.33 points, or 0.30%, to 4,778.73 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 24.65 points, or 0.16%, to 15,741.56.

NEW YORK: Wall Street closed lower on Thursday, retreating late in thin holiday volume from record highs set early in the session on strong U.S. data including a drop in weekly claims for U.S. unemployment benefits.

With one trading day left, the S&P 500 was set to end the year more than 27% higher, with the Nasdaq up about 23% and the Dow's annual rise just shy of 20%. Each of Wall Street's main indexes was poised for its sharpest three-year surge since 1997-99.