The Dow Jones Industrial average was down on Thursday as investors assessed the possibility of a shut-down of the government at the end of the week.
The 30-stock index closed the session 97.84 points lower and was being sold at 26,017.81 after dropping 168.33 points at its deep end. The S&P 500 changed between gains and losses throughout the session before closing the session 0.2 percent lower at 2,798.03.
Congress needs to pass a spending bill by the end of Friday in order to avoid a government shutdown. In the past, a government shutdown has often led to a short-term drop in the stock market.
The Dow and S&P 500 posted record closes, shrugging of a sharp intraday reversal in the previous session, The Dow closed above 26,000 for the first time, while the S&P 500 ended above 2,800 for the first time.
Wall Street indices are seen starting the year strong. The Dow, S&P 500 and NASDAQ composite are all up by at least 4.8 percent for 2018, adding to last year’s strong gains.
Equities have been boosted this year by optimism in the U.S. economy and expectations for a strong earning season. Resulting to a good start in the season.
Morgan Stanley and BB&T Corp. both reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue on Thursday. Their shares rose