The Dow Industrials Have Gone 48 Straight Sessions Without a Three-day Win Streak

The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened slightly higher on Thursday, as the equity gauge aims for its third straight gain. That would mark the blue-chip benchmark's longest win streak since the period ended Feb. 27, when the Dow went 12 consecutive days in positive territory, then its longest such streak since 1987. However, since that period, stocks have moved in fits and starts amid doubts about President Donald Trump's pro-market agenda, with the Dow going 48 straight trading sessions without a three-day string of positive returns. Thursday's tepid rise for the Dow was being aided in part by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. , which had been contributing about 15 points to the benchmark. However, stocks were struggling to hold on to gains Thursday, a day after the Federal Reserve left a key interest rate unchanged and described recent weakness in economic data as "transitory," providing some support for buying stocks. A sharp decline in energy, as U.S. crude oil prices tumbled, was limiting the market's early gains. Dow component Chevron Corp. was cutting 10 points from the average. More broadly, the S&P 500 index was trading flat as was the Nasdaq Composite Index .

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