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.

After closing higher in Tuesday's abbreviated session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished today up 0.07% at 43,325, while the S&P 500 was 0.04% lower at 6,037, and the Nasdaq Composite had shed 0.05% to 20,020.

Stocks were slightly higher in afternoon trading Thursday as the market looks to add to its gains from earlier in the week.