Yesterday, the Dow closed 39.58 points (0.20%) higher at 19,796.43, the NASDAQ closed 31.96 points (0.59%) lower at 5,412.54, and the S&P 500 was down 2.57 points (0.11%) at 2,256.96. The Russell 2000 fell 14.93 points (1.08%) to 1,373.14, and the Wilshire 5000 decreased 59.42 points (0.25%) to 23,619.34.

On the NYSE, 3.1 billion shares traded, with 1.8 declining issues for every advancing issue. On the NASDAQ, 2.9 billion shares changed hands, with a more than 2 to1 lead for decliners.

The prices of the 10-year Treasury note and the 30-year Treasury bond were each down 3/32, increasing their yields to 2.479% and 3.157%, respectively.

ON THIS DATE: In 1577, five ships under the command of Sir Francis Drake left Plymouth, England, to embark on Drake’s circumnavigation of the globe. The journey took almost three years. In 1636, the United States National Guard was created when militia regiments were organized by the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1769, Dartmouth College, in New Hampshire, received its charter. In 1862, in America, an estimated 11,000 Northern soldiers were killed or wounded when Union forces were defeated by Confederates under General Robert E. Lee, at the Battle of Fredericksburg. In 1913, in the U.S., the Federal Reserve System was established. In 1944, during World War II, the U.S. cruiser Nashville was badly damaged in a Japanese kamikaze suicide attack; 138 people were killed. In 1966, the rights to the first four Super Bowls were sold to CBS and NBC for total of $9.5 million. In 1978, the Philadelphia Mint began stamping the Susan B. Anthony U.S. dollar. The coin began circulation the following July. In 2000, U.S. Vice President Al Gore conceded the 2000 Presidential election to Texas Governor George W. Bush. The Florida electoral votes were won by only 537 votes, which decided the election. The election had been contested up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which said that the Florida recount (supported by the Florida Supreme Court) was unconstitutional.