The markets were also trading in relatively muted action as traders refrained from making larger bets ahead of the upcoming earnings season, with big banks like J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and Citigroup (NYSE: C) expected to start it off on Friday.
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Banks recently received a boost after the Federal Reserve approved plans from the 34 largest U.S. banks to use extra capital for stock buybacks, dividends and other purposes.
“I think that’s very reflective of the fact that you’ve got a market that’s looking ahead to catalysts and probably not going to react much in front of them,” Hogan added “When the market takes a wait-and-see attitude, the markets tend to react like this.”
According to FactSet, analysts estimate a growth rate of 6.6% across the S&P 500 this earnings season.
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