Nasdaq closes up for fourth consecutive session but Dow remains down

Nasdaq climbed 0.4% to close at 5,897.55, thanks in part to an uptick in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc, which increased by 20%.

It is the fourth consecutive session in which Nasdaq has closed higher. Amazon shares also gave the index a bump by closing up by 2.1%.

However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down for the ninth out of 10 sessions, falling 42.8 points to finish at 20,659.32, although the blue-chip average has dipped just 1.4% in that time. The S&P 500 closed 0.1% up at 2,361.13.

"It's going to be touch-and-go until earnings season and then the entire conversation is going to change," Karyn Cavanaugh, senior market strategist at Voya Financial, told MarketWatch.

"We're probably going to get double-digit earnings growth this quarter, showing that things are getting better even without [the] administration's changes."

Cavanaugh also told the website she believes there is currently too strong a focus by investors on President Donald Trump and the new administration, as opposed to what is actually happening in the market.