This was the first time since 2008 that stocks opened with a drop.
Investors are especially touchy about how stocks do in January since many feel it can be telling about the rest of the year.
The last 40 times the S&P 500 has risen during its first five days, the market ended the year higher 34 times with an average gain of 13.6%, says Stock Trader's Almanac.
Last January, the S&P rose 2.2% the first five days of what turned out to be best year for stocks in 16 years.
The market's worst first-five day period happened in 2008 when the S&P 500 lost 5.3%. And during that year, stocks fell 38.6%.
Beyond tax tactics, the first day of trading started off on a bad note after Wells Fargo downgraded its rating on electronic gadget maker Apple.
That pushed Apple shares down 1.4% and weighed on the entire tech sector.
If anything, the choppy first day of trading is a reminder to investors that it's a new year and trading won't necessarily be as smooth as it was last year, says Ken Winans of Winans Investments.
"It might be more of a trading market this year," he says. "The year might be very choppy."
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