By William L. Watts, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks finished little changed on Monday, although the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to eke out its 51st record close of 2013 in the next-to-last trading session of the year, while shares of Twitter extended a decline.

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 (SPX) declined 0.33 point, or less than 0.1%, to finish at 1,841.07, leaving it on track for an annual percentage gain of more than 29% and its biggest annual rise since 1997.

The Dow (DJI) ended the day near its session high with a gain of 25.88 points, or 0.2%, at 16,504.29. The rise was enough to take out the previous record-high close set on Thursday and leaves the index up more than 26% for the year.

The Nasdaq Composite index (RIXF) shed 2.40 points, or 0.1%, to 4,154.20. This year's rally has left the index at levels last seen in 2000 and headed for an annual rise of 37.6%.

A strong finish to a robust year has investors worrying 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 on 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 2.98%. 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.

Among blue chips, Walt Disney Co. (DIS) led the way with a 2.5% gain. Oil producers Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) , down 1.2%, and Chevron Corp. (CVX)(CVX), off 0.8%, were among the biggest decliners.

In other action,Twitter (TWTR) fell 5.1%. Shares of the microblogging platform dropped 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 46% for the month of December.

Shares of social network Facebook Inc. (FB) were also under pressure, shedding 3.2%, but remained on track for a nearly 102% annual rise. Career-oriented social network LinkedIn Corp. (LNKD) fell 0.8%.

Shares of Crocs Inc. (CROX) soared 21% 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%. The shares had initially tumbled after the company terminated a $2.2 billion merger agreement with Indian suitor Apollo Tyres Ltd.

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