Stocks: Dow dips but remains within reach of 20,000

Stocks ended slightly lower Wednesday but the major indexes remain near record levels and the Dow is still within striking distance of the big 20,000 milestone. 

The Dow Jones industrial average ended down about 32 points, or 0.2% after rising as high as 19,986.56 in the opening minutes of trade. The Dow jumped 91.56 points Tuesday to close at a record 19,974.62. 

It's now at 19,941.96 — about 58 points shy of 20,000.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index ended down 0.3% and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.2% as it retreated from its record close of 5483.94. 

Investors were once again watching the Dow in its ongoing quest for the psychologically-important 20,000 mark as the blue-chip index has made several attempts to break through but each time has fallen just short. The index has rallied strongly since the election of Donald Trump as the next U.S. president amid hopes that the incoming administration will be kind to business and back more spending on such things as infrastructure.

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Oil prices were lower as benchmark U.S. crude fell 1.5% to $52.49 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. 

Bond prices rose slightly. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.54% from 2.56% late Tuesday. 

Global stock markets were trading in narrow ranges Wednesday. 

European markets were mixed as Britain’s FTSE 100 fell less than 0.1% and Germany’s DAX gained less than 0.1%. France’s CAC-40 fell 0.3%.

“It’s a good day to be an equity bull, however, it’s a slow grind higher as opposed to an explosion in demand and the moves we are seeing in many markets are fairly subdued,” Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG, said in a commentary.

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Measured reactions in Turkey and Russia after a gunman killed Russian’s ambassador to Turkey suggest the two sides will persist in trying to resolve differences over the war in Syria. The assassination came ahead of a meeting Wednesday on Syria involving Turkey, which backs opponents of President Bashar Assad’s government, and Russia and Iran, which support the Syrian regime. Meanwhile, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a truck attack on a crowded Berlin Christmas market that killed at least 12 people and injured 48. Germany is not involved in anti-IS combat operations, but has Tornado jets and a refueling plane stationed in Turkey in support of the coalition fighting militants in Syria.

The euro regained some of its recent losses against the dollar, rising by 0.4% to $1.0429. Analysts say the euro may fall to parity — one to one — with the U.S. dollar sometime in the New Year. Expectations for higher interest rates next year from the U.S. Federal Reserve have sent the dollar higher. The eurozone faces a turbulent 2017, when elections in France, Germany and the Netherlands will give right-wing parties that oppose the euro a chance to test their level of support.

Asian markets were mixed as the Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.1% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.4%. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 shed 0.3% and Seoul’s Kospi retreated 0.2 %.