Markets hover near record levels as Wall Street prepares to close early for Christmas holiday

Wall Street was largely unchanged early Wednesday as markets hovered near record levels on a holiday-shortened trading day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1% as of 9:45 a.m. Eastern. The S&P 500 index was up less than 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.1%.

Markets will close at 1 p.m. ET for Christmas Eve and are closed for Christmas. Markets will reopen for a full day of trading on Friday, however volumes are expected to be light this week with the holiday and...