Wall Street loses ground as market closes year

Stock indexes closed mostly lower on Wall Street on the final day of another record-setting year. The S&P 500 slipped 0.4% Tuesday, but still managed to rack up a gain of 23.3% for the year, its second straight year with gains of more than 20%. The last time it had back-to-back yearly gains that big was 1998. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.9%.

Big Tech stocks led this year’s rally, pushing the Nasdaq composite to a yearly gain of 28.6%. The Dow, which is far less weighted with tech, rose 12.9% for the year.

US, Boeing investigators examine SKorean crash

A team of U.S. investigators including representatives from Boeing have examined the site of a plane crash that killed 179 people in South Korea.

Authorities meanwhile are conducting safety inspections on all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the country’s airlines. All but two of the 181 people aboard the Boeing 737-800 operated by budget airline Jeju Air died in Sunday’s crash. The plane was seen having an engine trouble and preliminary examinations also say the pilots received a bird strike warning from the ground control center and issued a distress signal as well.

Small businesses brace for disruptive TikTok ban

A looming TikTok ban could affect the millions of small businesses that use the short-video social media app to grow their business. Though TikTok has been around only since 2016, small business owners are using the platform in a variety of ways, from growing a customer base to advertising and marketing, as well as selling goods directly from the site.

The Justice Department ordered the app’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell TikTok or face a U.S. ban by Jan. 19, citing security concerns. The Supreme Court will take up the matter in January.

China’s manufacturing slows in December

China has reported its factory activity expanded at a slower pace in December, despite recent stimulus measures and in the face of increasing trade risks.

The National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday that the official Purchasing Managers’ Index, based on a survey of factory managers, slipped to 50.1 from 50.3 in November. It was the third straight monthly reading above 50, a level that indicates an expansion.

Toxic fumes sicken 20 workers at cheese plant

Investigators are trying to determine what caused a mechanical failure that resulted in 20 workers inhaling toxic fumes at a cheese manufacturing plant in eastern New Mexico.

Curry County authorities say more than a dozen workers were transported to area hospitals by ambulances and private vehicles after acid mixed with chlorine to create the fumes Monday morning. Two of the workers were listed in critical condition.

Massachusetts OKs bill to close health loopholes

The Massachusetts Legislature approved a bill Monday aimed at closing loopholes in the state’s health care market regulatory process exposed by the collapse of Steward Health Care.

The bill is also designed to increase financial transparency by gathering more information about hospital finances and assist in maintaining a more stable and sustainable health care system. Steward critics say the firm’s bankruptcy shows the dangers of allowing private equity executives to seek profits by taking over hospitals, loading them with debt and stripping their assets. The bill now heads to Gov. Maura Healey’s desk.