By Stephen Culp NEW YORK (Reuters) -Wall Street stocks headed lower on Thursday and U.S. benchmark Treasury yields scaled the highest level since April in light, post-Christmas trading. The modest but broad-based sell-off pulled all three major U.

Stocks have seen a stellar 2024, but the S&P 500 is in danger of a rare December loss. It’s all riding on the so-called Santa Claus rally.

US stocks looked set for a mostly muted open to a final, shortened trading session before the Christmas holiday,

U.S. equity futures moved lower in early Thursday trading, while Treasury bond yields remained elevated in the wake of the Federal Reserve's cautious rate stance, as investors hit pause on the early Santa Claus rally.

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.

"Stocks tend to do well in the absence of news and this is why strength around holidays tends to occur," Ryan Detrick said.

Learn all about the Santa Claus Rally, a seasonal stock market trend with historical significance. Discover why it happens and some tips.

Wall Street is eager for a so-called Santa Claus rally to propel the S&P 500—up about 25% this year through Monday's close—to new highs. According to Wall Street lore, the stock market consistently rises during the final five trading days of the year and the first two sessions of the next. This year, that stretch starts today.

The Dow Jones rose on the stock market today. Magnificent Seven names Amazon and Nvidia were strong. American Airlines stock skidded.

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