Investors became gloomy on Friday, threatening to derail a long winning streak for stocks, as inflation remained high.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.58% while the S&P 500 lost 1.12%. The Dow Jones shed 333 points to end the day.

The main indexes sold off at the open and stayed lower through the close, putting the Santa Claus rally at risk.

Some of the biggest winners were mega-cap tech stocks, with Tesla up by 6% while Broadcom, Netflix, and Amazon each gained about 2%.

According to the latest Labor Department data, weekly jobless claims fell to 219,000 compared with expectations of 223,000. However continuing claims pointed to a cooling labor market, jumping by 46,000 in the week ending Dec. 14 to 1.91 million, the highest level since November 2021.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average went up 66.69 points or 0.2% to end at 42,906.95 for its third straight daily gain, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The S&P 500 went up 43.22 points or 0.7% to finish at 5,974.07.

Tuesday kicks off a historically merry period for investors, a stretch known familiarly as the Santa Claus rally for the positive stock market returns typically enjoyed during the holiday season, potentially bringing further gains to a largely cheery 2024 for equities.

Kaltbaum Capital Management's Gary Kaltbaum and Scarlet Oak Financial's Frances Newton Stacy give their economic outlook heading into 2025 on 'Your World.'

Since the start of 2024, the S&P 500 has never once closed below its 200-day moving average, according to Bespoke Investment Group. Barring a sharp selloff between now and the end of the year, this would be only the 12th time since 1952 that this has happened.