U.S. stocks were up in midday trading Friday, with the S&P 500 attempting to snap a five-day losing streak. The S&P 500 was up 59 points, or a sharp 1%, at almost 5,928. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was gaining 240 points, or 0.6%, to trade at nearly 42,633.

Indexes failed to hold onto early gains, with investors extending their losing streak to five days. Hope is fading for a Santa Claus rally to take shape.

Stock indexes closed mostly lower on Wall Street on the final day of another record-setting year. The S&P 500 slipped 0.4% Tuesday, but still managed to rack up a gain of 23.3% for the year, its second straight year with gains of more than 20%.