By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch , Ryan Vlastelica

Dow could extend losing streak to six straight days

U.S. stocks traded slightly lower Thursday, putting the Dow on track for its sixth straight daily decline as cautious investors looked ahead to a potential vote on a health-care bill that could clarify President Donald Trump's ability to pass his ambitious legislative agenda.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 10 points, or less than 0.1%, to 20,654, building on five straight days of declines, the longest losing streak for the blue-chip average since January, though most of the declines were 0.1% or smaller. The S&P 500 index dipped 1 point to 2,346, a decline of 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 10 points to 5,811, down 0.2% on the day.

While major equity indexes remain solidly higher for the year, the recent trend has been lower for the month. On Tuesday, all three major indexes fell more than 1%, breaking a multimonth streak without a drop of that magnitude.

Opinion:Your best defensive bet is...tech stocks? (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/your-best-defensive-bet-is-tech-stocks-2017-03-23)

Plus:These key levels may signal if the stock market is set to rise or fall (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-key-levels-stock-market-technical-analysts-are-watching-as-trump-trade-wobbles-2017-03-22)

Tuesday's selloff was partly driven by concerns of slowing momentum for Trump's pro-growth agenda. Therefore, investors will be closely watching whether the House votes on the Trump-backed GOP plan to replace the Affordable Care Act on Thursday. A vote is planned for Thursday, but it could be delayed.

Currently, it was unclear whether the legislation would pass if the vote occurs. A last-minute deal showed some signs of bringing holdouts on board (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gop-scrambles-for-votes-on-eve-of-vote-on-health-care-bill-2017-03-22), though a number of Republicans have voiced opposition.

Related:Koch-backed network vows to fund Republicans who reject health bill (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/koch-backed-network-vows-to-fund-republicans-who-reject-health-bill-2017-03-22)

Trump has been involved in intense negotiations to push the bill through, and analysts said there is a danger of an equity selloff if he can't achieve that, as it may signal a struggle for him to push through on other plans, such as tax reform and an infrastructure spending package--key pledges the president has made which has been supportive to the market's rise because they are seen as pro-growth.

See also:Infrastructure ETFs stall as Trump plan moves to back burner (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/infrastructure-etfs-stall-as-trump-plan-moves-to-back-burner-2017-03-20)

"There's no certainty about whether it will pass or not, and that has implications for whether the Trump administration can get done all the policies it wants to get done. We're in a wait and see mode," said John Bonnell, senior portfolio manager at USAA Investments.

"The administration still wants to take on tax reform, and both parties still want to get started on infrastructure, but for whatever reason they picked health care to start, and that raises questions for the timing of the rest of the agenda."

Read:Dennis Gartman sees at least a 5% drop for stocks--and shades of Watergate (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dennis-gartman-sees-at-least-a-5-drop-for-stocks-and-shades-of-watergate-2017-03-22)

In the latest economic data, jobless claims unexpectedly rose (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jobless-claims-climb-15000-to-258000-2017-03-23) in the latest week, hitting a two-month high.

Stocks to watch:Ford Motor Co.(F) fell 0.2% after it gave a first-quarter earnings outlook that was below expectations.

Apple Inc.(AAPL) may be in focus after a report that it has acquired Workflow, a popular mobile app for automating tasks, TechCrunch reported Wednesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-acquires-automation-app-workflow-report-2017-03-22). The stock fell 0.4%.

Opinion:Your best defensive bet is...tech stocks? (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/your-best-defensive-bet-is-tech-stocks-2017-03-23)

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/your-best-defensive-bet-is-tech-stocks-2017-03-23)Five Below Inc.(FIVE) surged 8.8% after the retailer reported forecast-beating earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/five-below-shares-rally-on-companys-earnings-beat-new-store-openings-2017-03-22) and said it would open 100 new stores in 2017.

Elliot Management Corp. has surfaced as a key player in a $24 billion standoff (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/elliott-pressures-akzo-over-ppg-takeover-bid-2017-03-22) between Akzo Nobel NV and PPG Industries Inc.(PPG). Elliot on Wednesday threatened to use corporate rules to call a special shareholders meeting try to try to force Akzo to at least talk with PPG. Shares of PPG were slightly higher.

Other markets: Asian stocks had a largely quiet session (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-hold-their-breath-ahead-of-critical-vote-in-us-2017-03-22), while European stocks hovered at week lows, with investors reluctant to make big moves ahead of the U.S. health care vote.

Oil prices (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-lifted-by-drop-in-us-gasoline-stocks-2017-03-23) firmed up, while gold slipped. The dollar edged up broadly, though it was weaker against the pound, which rallied after U.K. retail sales surged in February (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-retail-sales-surge-14-in-february-2017-03-23).

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 23, 2017 09:57 ET (13:57 GMT)