‘Santa Claus rally’ is here — but can the stock market avoid the ‘Grinch pinch’?

The Dow closed slightly higher on Thursday while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 closed lower in the second day of a so-called Santa Claus rally period.

Yes. The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq will both operate on half-day schedules, closing at 1 p.m., while bond markets will shut down at 2 p.m., and major U.S. financial markets will stay closed until Thursday’s normal trading session.