Wall Street little changed in muted pre-holiday trading

U.S. stocks were little changed in muted pre-holiday trading on Wednesday as investors paused, a day after the Nasdaq Composite and the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit record highs. The Dow came within 15 points of hitting 20,000, 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.