MARKET SNAPSHOT: Stocks Steady In 2013 Home Stretch; Twitter Drops

By William L. Watts, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks headed for a flat finish Monday, hovering near-unchanged in the next-to-last trading session of a torrid year that's left major indexes on track for their biggest annual percentage gains since the 1990s, though the pace of recent gains has fueled worries that a pullback is overdue.

Volume was thin, with investors finding little fuel to push the market either way, while formerly highflying Twitter Inc. shares had their wings clipped for a second-straight day.

The S&P 500 index (SPX) declined 1.2 points, or 0.1%, to 1,835.30, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 5 points, or less than 0.1%, to 16,426.

The Nasdaq Composite index (RIXF) shed 1.05 points, edging down to 4,155.55.

The Dow is up nearly 26% year-to-date, leaving the index on track for its biggest annual percentage gain since 1996, while the S&P 500 is up around 29% over the same stretch, putting it on track for its best annual gain since 1997.

Both indexes added to a string of record highs last week, contributing to concern the market may be overdue for at least a near-term pullback, analysts said, noting high levels of margin debt and bullish sentiment.

While a pullback wouldn't be a shock, the market's recent performance doesn't necessarily bode poorly for 2014, although the magnitude of any rise isn't likely to match that seen this year, said Bob Landry, executive director and portfolio manager at USAA Investments in San Antonio.

Landry said he's cautiously optimistic the market will push higher in 2014 as economic growth continues to improve, barring any "policy mistakes" out of Washington, D.C., or some unforeseen geopolitical disaster.

The first big test for the market will come in January as fourth-quarter earnings season gets under way, he said.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet now expect earnings by S&P 500 companies to grow 6.3% in the fourth quarter, which is down from initial expectations for growth of around 9.5%, Landry noted. If companies can beat expectations, it would likely help keep the market chugging along, he said.

The economic calendar remained light Monday.

The National Association of Realtors said its index of pending home sales rose 0.2% in November to 101.7, slightly above a 10-month low of 101.5 in October, but down from 103.3 in November 2012. The data had little impact on stocks.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note (10_YEAR) pushed back above 3% last week, but slipped in recent action to around 2.97%. Yields fall as bond prices decline. Rising rates can unsettle stocks, though a gradual rise in rates driven by improving economic growth could likely be taken in stride, analysts said.

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) rose 2.3%, while Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) added 1%, making them top gainers among blue chips. Oil producers Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) , down 0.9%, and Chevron Corp. (CVX)(CVX), off 0.7%, were among the biggest decliners.

In other action,Twitter (TWTR) fell 3.5%. Shares of the microblogging platform were in focus after dropping more than 13% on Friday as analysts expressed doubts about its highflying performance. Twitter made its debut in an IPO earlier this year and remains up by around 48% for the month of December.

Shares of social network Facebook Inc. (FB) were also under pressure, shedding 2.6%, but reamin on track for 102.7% annual rise. Career-oriented social network LinkedIn Corp. (LNKD) fell 0.7%.

Shares of Crocs Inc. (CROX) soared nearly 22% after Chief Financial Officer Jeff Lasher said in an interview that Blackstone Group LP (BX) will invest $200 million in the shoe company and that Chief Executive John McCarvel will retire by late April.

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. (CTB) rose more than 5%. Shares had initially tumbled after it terminated a $2.2 billion merger agreement with Indian suitor Apollo Tyres Ltd.

More MarketWatch must-reads:

10 worst money moves for the new year

The best financial advice from 22 big names

Chuck Jaffe: Don't fall prey to the wolves of Wall Street

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires