U.S. market indexes were marginally lower after hitting multi-year and, in some cases, record highs. Bulls are looking for a catalyst for the next leg up, while bears fret the speed of the recent moves higher and potential Fed “tapering.”

“With the holiday shortened trading week and end-of-year portfolio considerations, some traders took profits while assessing current market levels,” said Dave Gedeon, Managing Director of NASDAQ OMX Global Information Services. “How investors are viewing valuations across the global markets will be an interesting catalyst for the start of 2014 as the spread between US and emerging markets has increased significantly in 2013.”