NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks were flat on the final trading day of 2014 on Wednesday, keeping the market on pace for its sixth consecutive year of gains.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 13 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,996 as of 12:10 p.m. Eastern. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was unchanged at 2,080 and the Nasdaq composite rose 11 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,797.
OIL LAGS, AGAIN: Energy stocks were the biggest decliners as the price of oil fell. Benchmark U.S. crude dropped $1.17 to $52.94 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil has plunged since June amid abundant supplies and weak global demand.
Oil drillers fell the most. Diamond Offshore, Anadarko Petroleum and Denbury Resources were all down 2 percent. The energy component of the S&P 500 is down 10 percent this year.
ASIA JUMPS: Chinese stocks surged after a weak manufacturing report reinforced hopes for new government stimulus measures as growth in the world's No. 2 economy slows. Manufacturing in China contracted in December, according to an HSBC survey, the latest sign of a slowdown there.
NEW YEAR OUTLOOK: "Heading into 2015, many of the challenges the market has faced this year will be recurring," said Stan Shamu, market strategist at IG in Melbourne, Australia. Analysts say investors will be preoccupied by the slowdown in China, the economic malaise in Europe and Japan, and the possible timing of the U.S. Federal Reserve's first interest rate hike since the financial crisis. "The beginning part of the year will be dominated by Europe and then we'll switch to the U.S. toward the middle of the year," said Shamu.
DOUBLE DIGITS: The S&P 500 is on pace to close up 12.6 percent for 2014, or 14.9 percent when dividends are included. That's roughly double what strategists expected for the market at the beginning of the year. Most strategists believe the stock market will also rise in 2015, but they expect the gains to be more modest, between 4 percent and 6 percent.
QUIET END: Trading is expected to be light Wednesday since it is New Year's Eve and most fund managers have closed their books for the year. U.S. markets will be closed Thursday for New Year's Day and will reopen Friday.
AROUND THE GLOBE: The U.S. stock market had a great year, but around the world, stocks were mixed.
Europe had a difficult year. While Germany's DAX rose 2.7 percent in 2014, France's CAC-40 lost 0.5 percent and Britain's FTSE 100 fell 2.7 percent. Greece had a terrible year, falling 29 percent.
In Asia, China's Shanghai Composite jumped 53 percent while Hong Kong's Heng Seng rose only 1.3 percent. Japan's Nikkei was up 7.1 percent for 2014.
BONDS AND CURRENCIES: Prices for U.S. government bonds rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged down to 2.17 percent. The euro declined to $1.2103 from $1.2162 late Tuesday. The dollar rose to 119.82 yen from 119.47 yen.