Stocks dip slightly as investors return from Christmas holiday in light trading

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks moved slightly lower in afternoon Friday trading as investors returned from the Christmas holiday in extremely light trading.

The S&P 500 index was down 0.1% as of 2:30 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.1%.

Institutional investors are largely closed out of their positions for the year. The S&P 500 has climbed nearly 18% this year, helped by the deregulatory policies of the Trump administration as well as investor optimism about the future of artificial intelligence. Roughly 1.5 billion shares have traded on the New York Stock Exchange which is roughly a third of normal volume.

Gold and silver prices continued to climb, with silver rising 9% to $76.88 an ounce. Gold was up 1.4%. Both precious metals have risen this year as investors have looked for safe havens outside of stocks and bonds, and silver has also risen sharply due supply constraints. Miners like Freeport-McMoRan were among the biggest gainers Friday.

Earlier surges in gold prices partly reflected worries during the U.S. government shutdown. Expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates further in the new year, weakening the dollar against other currencies, have also fueled buying of gold.

Shares of Target rose 2% after The Financial Times reported that an activist investor is taking a stake in the retail giant.

U.S. crude oil fell nearly 2% and Brent crude fell more than 1%.

Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged down to 4.14%.

Markets in Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia were closed. Most European markets remained closed Friday.