Stocks wavered on Wall Street in afternoon trading Thursday, as gains in tech companies and retailers helped temper losses elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 was down less than 0.1% after drifting between small gains and losses.

Indexes fell in their first trading day after Christmas as traders hope for a so-called Santa Clause rally to propel markets higher into the new year.

Stocks could come under a little pressure but are on course for solid annual gains as the year’s end approaches.