The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes closed lower on Thursday, extending their losing streak that kicked off 2024 -- although the S&P/TSX Composite Index and Dow Jones Industrial Index both eked out a win on the back of financial stocks. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that for the S&P 500, this is the worst start to a year since 2015, as tech-focused investors continued to take profits after a blistering rally in the final weeks of last year. Bets that the Federal Reserve could start reducing rates this year had driven much of the gains toward the end of 2023, though the latest minutes from the central bank's December policy meeting did not offer many clues on when the easing might commence. A tick-up in yields on longer-dated U.S. Treasuries -- the benchmark 10-year note ended at 4 per cent -- prompted traders to move away from growth stocks toward other sectors. The S&P/TSX composite ended up 52.77 points at 20,871.35, posting its first higher close since the start of the new year. Activity in Canada's service sector deteriorated for a seventh consecutive month in December as elevated borrowing costs weighed on the housing market.