Wall Street slips in choppy trade, set to clock robust yearly gains
Wall Street’s main indexes eased in choppy trading on Friday, but headed for their best three year run since 1999, driven by massive stimulus, vaccine rollouts, and strong retail participation.
Ten of 11 major S&P sectors gained amid quiet trading, with energy — the best performing sector of 2021 — leading the charge higher.
The S&P 500 and Dow hit peaks this week, as optimism from early data suggesting the Omicron variant was less virulent than other strains outweighed worries from a record-high surge in U.S. cases and warnings of disruptions ahead.
On New Year’s Eve, thousands of flights within the United States and internationally were delayed and hundreds were canceled, but investors took heart from South Africa announcing the Omicron wave had crested without a huge surge in deaths.
“The market is subdued. It is typical for the market to be down a little bit on…
