NEW YORK — Stocks finished slightly lower Wednesday as health care companies continued to struggle. Energy companies rose as the price of natural gas surged on the first day of winter.
Some traders aren’t sticking around to see if the Dow Jones industrial average reaches the 20,000-point milestone: trading volume has fallen sharply this week as the holidays draw near.
After a mixed open, stocks finished at their lowest prices of the day. Health care companies continued to lag the market, as they’ve done throughout 2016. Industrial companies, which have surged since the presidential election, also eased lower. A jump of almost 9 percent in the price of natural gas helped gas and pipeline companies move higher.
“It looks like we’re going to see another cold blast,” said Jim Ritterbusch, an analyst who advises oil traders. He said weather forecasts suggest temperatures will drop later next week, which means people will use more natural gas to heat their homes.