MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks Drift Lower; Dow Breaks 6-day Win Streak

By Anora Mahmudova

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks drifted lower on Friday in a thinly-traded session after rallying to record highs earlier this week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) traded in an out of negative territory and by midday was 1.8 points lower to 16,478.15, breaking its six-day winning streak. The Dow average was still headed for a weekly gain, however.

The S&P 500 (SPX) was virtually unchanged from Thursday's close at 1,841.54, though still higher on the week. The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) dropped 8.42 points, or 0.1% to 4,157.11, but also gained over the past week.

Wall Street stocks rallied on Thursday, extending a record run after data showed a sharp fall in weekly jobless claims. The Dow posted its 50th record close this year, while the S&P 500 closed at a record level for the 44th time in 2013. Thursday also saw the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note (10_YEAR) reach 3% for the first time since September.

"While current levels still put valuations at reasonable levels, investors should note that there is abundant skepticism around, as short interest on S&P 500 components has been rising since May," said Todd Salamone, director of research at Schaeffer's Investment Research. "In other words, plenty of people are hedging or plainly betting against the market," he said.

Shares in Twitter Inc. (TWTR) fell 6.8% after Ben Schachter, an analyst at Macquarie, downgraded the stock from neutral to underperform, citing its extraordinary rally in the past few weeks. Twitter shares have soared more than 60% in December. "We believe nothing has changed in the fundamentals to justify the sharp rise in shares over the past few weeks," Schachter wrote in a note.

Shares of Cessna maker Textron Inc. (TXT) gained 1% after the company said it would pay $1.4 billion to buy U.S. plane maker Beechcraft Corp.

Shares of WPCS International Inc. (WPCS) soared 80% after the company said Thursday that one of its units released a software platform for bitcoin traders.

Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) shares dropped 2.7% after a computer glitch resulted in exceedingly cheap tickets on the airline's website and news traveled quickly on social media sites. The airline said it would honor the tickets.

European markets reopened from a two-day Christmas break to push higher. The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 1.1% on Friday and finished the week with a 2% gain.

The Shanghai Composite outperformed other Asian markets as fear of stress in China's money markets eased. Japan's Nikkei 225 index retreated from a six-year high after data showed consumer prices rising more than expected.

Gold prices were little changed and oil futures gained, but the dollar was pulling back across the board.