Wall Street eases in muted trading as investors pause

The Dow came within 15 points of hitting 20,000 level, the historic level it has threatened to breach for several days. "The 20,000 mark is just a number, but it's also a nice chance to step back and plan for the coming year," said Ryan Detrick, senior market strategist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina. U.S. stocks have been roaring ahead since the election, with the Dow up about 9 percent and the S&P 500 6 percent on bets that President-elect Donald Trump's plans for deregulati