Money | stock market Stocks Finish Slightly Down Wednesday Healthcare companies continue to struggle By Newser Editors and Wire Services Posted Dec 21, 2016 3:17 PM CST Copied Gerard Farco follows stock prices at the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) Stocks finished slightly lower Wednesday as health care companies continued to struggle, the AP reports. Energy companies bucked the downward trend and rose as the price of natural gas surged on the first day of winter. The Dow Jones industrial average sank 32.66 points, or 0.2%, to 19,941.96. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gave up 5.58 points, or 0.2%, to 2,265.18. The Nasdaq composite slid 12.51 points, or 0.2%, to 5,471.43. Read These Next Doctor left her Alaskan cruise and never returned. Trump "never heard" that "shylocks" is offensive. Extremely rare bat-borne virus claims a human life. Actor Michael Madsen is dead at 67. Report an error