Wall Street: one day to go and looking to end with double-digit annual returns

Wall Street was a touch lower on Thursday as we head towards the closing sessions for the year in Asia and tomorrow in the West. 

US Dollar Index drops to 1-week lows

You will not find many participants making significant investments at this time of the year and thus a drift lower on last minute squaring and profit taking along with tax benefit trades that tend to play out - Wither way, we have a long weekend ahead of us, but January could be where investors return with a vengeance in small cap and value stocks with a high dividend yield and low price-to-book ratio. Overall, the markets could return and stir up the Trump hysteria again, a presidency that is supposedly going to be a positive outcome for the US economy and stocks. 

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower by just 11 points, or less than 0.1%, at 19,821.49. The S&P 500 also dropped but ended the day down just less than a point at 2,249.37. The Nasdaq Composite lost 6.47 points, or 0.1%, to close at 5,432. So where does that leave us with just one day to go before markets open again for 2017? So far, the three major benchmarks are  on track for a decent month end with double-digit annual returns.

Other news, the U.S. announced sanctions against Russian individuals and organizations it believes interfered with the 2016 U.S. election. 

What to expect in 2017?