Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Stocks closed lower on the final trading day of 2024 to end what has been a strong year for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500, which notched its second consecutive larger than 20% annual return in decades. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 29.51 points, or 0.07%, on Tuesday to close at 42,544.22. The S&P 500 was off 0.4% to 5,881 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.9% to 19,310. Advertisement Tuesday's close marks the first time since 1966 that the S&P