US STOCKS-Wall Street closes lower as stimulus rally cools, Tesla volume jumps

* Tesla trading volume surges
* COVID-19 relief bill in focus
* Indexes: Dow down 0.4%, S&P 500 down 0.4%, Nasdaq down
0.1%

(Updates close with volume)
By Karen Pierog and Caroline Valetkevitch
Dec 18 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended lower on Friday, pulled
down by uncertainty around a coronavirus stimulus deal, while
Tesla shares jumped in heavy trading in anticipation of their
addition to the S&P 500 next week.
All three major indexes hit record highs at the opening
before retreating. The S&P 500 technology index .SPLRCT , which
has led gains this week, was the biggest drag on the overall
benchmark index.
Trading was heavy and volatile in shares of electric-car
maker Tesla Inc TSLA.O , which will become on Monday the most
valuable company to be ever added to Wall Street's main
benchmark index.
The stock was last up 6% and hit a record high. Turnover in
Tesla shares topped $120 billion shortly after 4 p.m. EST, with
volume exceeding 200 million as the stock traded after hours,
according to Refinitiv data. "Tesla is sort of a New Age cult stock. There are people who
love the product and who love the stock," said Tim Ghriskey,
chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York,
New York.
Investors could see further gains in the stock on Monday,
but possibly profit-taking after that, he said, adding, "a lot
of people bought when the announcement" of the inclusion in the
S&P 500 came out.
Market trading volumes were high also due to the expiration
of stock index futures, stock index options, stock options and
single stock futures at the end of trade, also known as
"quadruple witching."
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 15.8 billion shares, compared
with the 11.6 billion average for the full session over the last
20 trading days.
The U.S. Congress on Friday risked blowing through a
midnight deadline to keep the government open and address the
coronavirus crisis, as a partisan fight over federal lending
rules caused a fresh delay on a $900 billion COVID-19 relief
bill. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 124.32 points,
or 0.41%, to 30,179.05, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 13.07 points, or
0.35%, to 3,709.41 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 9.11
points, or 0.07%, to 12,755.64.
For the week, the S&P 500 was up 1.3%, the Dow was up 0.4%
and the Nasdaq gained 3.1%.
Recent weak economic data has increased pressure on
lawmakers to reach a deal.
"Investors definitely want to see something come through or
like to see something come through on the stimulus front sooner
rather than later as COVID cases continue to rise and economic
data has shown that it is beginning to deteriorate," said
Lindsey Bell, chief investment strategist at Ally Invest, in
Charlotte, North Carolina.
The prospect of continued monetary and fiscal stimulus has
helped stocks look past the economic impact of the pandemic, and
set them up for strong annual gains, despite a rocky start to
the year.
FedEx Corp FDX.N fell 5.7% after it did not give an
earnings forecast for 2021, even as its quarterly profit almost
doubled. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
1.41-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.26-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 40 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 302 new highs and 9 new lows.